The dull headache subsided and my drunk feeling was immediately washed away, replaced with almost a feeling of euphoria. The strange shapes extended into the something else in my mind. It made the whole room feel like it shook, a low rumbling going through my body. All I could do was stare in awe, wondering how Laura had created this panorama.
I was startled back to reality when I realized that my ARs had gone blank. I tried accessing the mesh network again, but my user interface told me I couldn’t connect. The feeling of awe turned into dread as I strolled to the door, somehow no longer drunk.
The rumbling came again.
Thunder?
I walked out into the hallway and made for the stairs. Akira was in the living room talking in a soothing voice to Yukiko, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. I got to the bottom of the stairs and she looked up at me.
“It wasn’t supposed to storm, was it?” she asked, hugging Yukiko to her chest as the house vibrated again.
“I don’t think-.”
I was cut off when the door swung open, both of us looking over
“Everyone get to the basement!” Darren shouted, suited in his LoC Security uniform.
“What the hell’s going on?” Akira asked, lifting a whimpering Yukiko up.
“The CSA,” Darren said, momentarily cut off by a nearby explosion casting orange, flickering light over the front yard. “They’re invading. They’re invading the LoC.”
Chapter 51
Pounding explosions neared as Akira and I piled down the stairs. Aveena was already down there, looking at us wide eyed. No sooner had Darren gotten down after us than the entire house shook, walls splintering as a blast rocked the foundation. Yukiko howled.
I went into one of the locked cupboards, grabbing two 3D printed M16s stored in it. The rifles would be no match for exoskeletons but might provide the feeling of control. Darren held his pistol, looking up at the door, Akira trying to calm her daughter. I held out the other rifle to Aveena. She looked stunned and confused, reaching out slowly to take the weapon almost on instinct.
“I-I don’t know how to use this,” she said in a quiet, high pitched voice.
I reached over, flipped the safety off and said, “Point the barrel and pull the trigger.”
“When-when did they decide to…” was all Akira managed as an eerie silence fell.
Darren shook his head, whispering loudly, “Ellen and I were watchin’ their camp. Our communications cut out. Vehicles started movin’ north all at once. That’s when I got on the shortwave. Reports’uh movement from all over.”
Darren fell silent when footsteps started crunching through rubble upstairs. Akira got Yukiko down to quiet sobbing, allowing us to listen as footsteps came closer to the basement door. There was a moment of quiet before wood splintered, the door being thrown off its hinges. I looked to Akira holding Yukiko in one arm, rifling through her reagents for something corrosive. I spotted a flask of nitric acid with my bionic eye, walked over and grabbed it.
I turned. The exoskeleton, one of the new Benecorp issued EXO:B-039s, was already in the basement. It was larger than the EXO:B-024s I had seen in Wichita and Atlanta, standing just over seven feet tall, its thick polymer armor colored a light camouflage pattern. My bionic eye told me that it had a 30 mm gun, using depleted uranium ammunition, mounted on the right arm and a .50 caliber belt fed fully automatic machine gun and a Milkor MGL mounted on left.
I quickly hurled the flask at the soldier. The glass shattered on the polymer arm as they raised the 30 mm. Darren leapt at the exoskeleton, using his shoulder to shove the arm upwards as it fired, blasting through the ceiling into the upstairs. Darren staggered back, bionic hand holding his left ear in pain. Debris fell from the torn ceiling into the basement. I opened fire, aiming for where the acid was splashed over the polymer exoskeleton. It didn’t make a dent.
The new polymer…it doesn’t react to acid.
The soldier bounded toward the quantum computer, pursuing Akira as she scrambled away with Yukiko. He’s specifically after her. I stopped shooting, not wanting to hit Akira. I aimed my rifle at the quantum computer. The EXO:B-039 raised its .50 cal just as I opened fire, hitting the protective shell around the computer’s apparatus. A horrible screeching echoed through the room as liquid helium poured from the piping onto the exoskeleton’s rifle. Akira fell backwards, cradling the shrieking child as the weapon opened fire. A blast thundered through the room, shrapnel flinging into the instruments as the exoskeleton was flung backwards, the flash frozen .50 cal blowing apart in front of it.
Darren scrambled to Akira, helping her up. Blood poured down from her forehead, eyes wide in fear.
“The implants!” I shouted, rushing to Darren’s side, “did it hit the brain implants!”
Akira only stared at us in shock.
“C’mon!” Darren urged, almost forcefully leading Akira toward the stairs, “we’re sittin’ fuckin’ ducks down ‘ere!”
None of us offered an argument. As we started running back up the stairs, more blasts sounded off outside. The soldier in the basement climbed slowly to his feet. The entire left arm of the exo was mangled, but it ran at us with frightening speed. I aimed, shooting the rifle at him, this time the bullets shattering through the frozen chest plate. The man inside cried out, toppling forward, running headlong into the wall as blood gushed from the fragmented chest.
Upstairs, the entire front of the house was collapsed in. Piles of splintered wood and chunks of drywall stood in the way. We ran toward the back, going out into the large field. We hadn’t gotten far when two soldiers came crashing out the back door of the house behind us.
We split up, an explosion impacting the ground between Darren and Akira, sending both of them tumbling onto the cold grass, Yukiko spilling from her hands and skidding forward. Both soldiers were on us almost immediately. I turned to open fire on the two B-039s, my bullets like gnats to them.
Darren was already on his feet, the bionic hand gripping the barrel of an exoskeleton’s arm mounted grenade launcher, the powerful fingers digging into the barrel. Akira crawled across the lawn searching desperately for the wailing toddler. My rifle ran out of ammo. Aveena held the rifle in front of her, frozen in fear. I dropped mine, running towards her. Another blast plumed, the damaged grenade launcher exploding, sending Darren flying over top of Akira just as she threw herself over Yukiko.
I wrenched the rifle from Aveena’s hands and ran toward the other soldier. A blast threw my back. The soldier’s exploding chest sprayed hot blood and polymer shrapnel over me as I tumbled into Aveena, both of us sliding over the cold ground. I lifted my head, seeing four more exoskeletons quickly descend on us.
We’re all dead.
The ones approaching were bulkier and less sleek, painted in white and blue camouflage.
“Stay down!” I shouted, kneeling down in front of Aveena, Akira and her howling child.
The exoskeletons arrived, fanning out around us in a semicircle. I aimed the M16 back and forth between them, but they only stood there. A moment later I heard shouting as someone ran toward us. I immediately recognized the bright red hair – it was Ellen.
“Oh fuck…Oh God, no!” Ellen cried, running to Darren’s body and falling to her knees.
The three other exoskeletons raised their visors. Their exos were the XDS-032 suits that LoC Security had recently rolled out, based on the EXO:B-039 design. It was Colonel Rosaline Riviera, Major Ross, and agent Brie. Everyone watched in stunned silence as Ellen took off most of the exoskeleton, leaving the pieces of it around her on the ground. Tears streamed down her pale, freckled cheeks, red hair sticking to the sweat of her face as she knelt over Darren’s body.
In the dim light I could already see that he was dead. His entire right arm was missing, the front of his shirt burned off and chest caved in, a gaping hole through his head where a mouth used to be, blasted away by shrapnel.
“Corporal Malloy,” Riviera said, “Ellen. We need to keep mov
ing. More’re coming.”
“They-they killed him,” Ellen said, almost a whisper.
“And they’ll kill the rest of us,” Riviera said, “We need to evacuate the city,” she looked to me, “Is anyone injured?”
Akira only looked between us, unable to understand without the tech to translate, her face smeared with blood, jaw quivering. I looked to Yukiko, who was eerily quiet, and saw that her left arm was broken and dangling. Weak breaths rasped from the toddler’s gaping mouth, cheeks drenched with tears.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
“Y-yes,” Akira said, “her arm…”
“Yukiko’s arm,” I translated.
“Ellen,” Riviera looked back to her.
“He’s fucking dead!” she cried, still holding Darren’s remaining arm.
“Corporal Malloy,” Riviera said in a sterner voice, “tend to the child. Ross, Brie, we’re going to rally everyone in the city and make sure they’re armed before we rendezvous with the others. We don’t have much time. Eshe, go through the house and make sure you have everything you might need. First aid, guns, whatever. Go!”
I watched as everyone went about following orders. Ellen’s face was contorted, trying not to cry as she went to bind Yukiko’s arm. The other three closed their visors and ran off across the lawn out to the street. More explosions and gunfire sounded in the distance. I could already see through my bionic eye that plenty of people were leaving their houses, many of them holding weapons.
“Come on,” I said, helping Aveena to her feet.
She was completely paralyzed with fear. I dragged her with me toward the house, finally feeling how cold it was outside as the adrenaline wore off.
“Aveena,” I said, stopping to face her, “stay with me.”
Her eyes locked onto mine, but remained wide with panic.
“I need you to gather as much of my winter clothing as you can,” I told her, “can you do that?”
She said nothing, unmoving.
“Don’t think any further than that,” I said, “just go grab the clothes and meet me by the back door.”
This time she nodded, swallowing. I turned and started back toward the house, hearing her moving behind me under her own volition.
I ran through the rubble and up the stairs, having to step over a blown-out section, hearing the frame creak beneath me, and went to the linen closet at the end of the hall. I pulled open the trap door on the floor.
The emergency backpack. It contained three pistols, two folding submachine guns, a sawed-off shotgun, ammunition, five grenades, protein supplements, and a first aid kit.
As I started back for the stairs, I paused near Laura’s room, looking in at her art. It had been disturbed by the attack, but I could still picture in my mind where everything had been set. I glanced to the stairs and then set the backpack down, strolling into the room, reaching down and picking up one of the delicate pieces. The images of my hallucination started swirling into my mind again, the extension beyond space, the way light seemed to dim and bend, the way falling happened in slow motion until nearing the ground, the way I could see around everything as if it was only a small part of what was really there.
As I looked at the art piece, the world around me faded away until another explosion shook the house, shouts coming from outside. I dropped the paper pattern, trotting back into the hallway, taking one last look into room as I threw the pack over my shoulder and made for the stairs.
Aveena was at the landing, wearing one of my thick coats and holding a duffel bag stuffed with sweatshirts, boots, and gloves, too full to close the zipper. As I sped down the stairs, another blast vibrated through the house. I stumbled, almost tripping on the blown off section, Aveena letting out a yelp as I caught myself.
“They-they’re coming back,” she said in almost a whisper.
“Let’s go,” I said, leading her to the back door and back out into the yard.
Akira watched as we approached, standing in the lawn, holding her daughter. Ellen was back over near Darren’s corpse, looking helpless.
“Give them some clothes,” I said.
Aveena nodded, setting the bag down near Akira and pulling sweatshirts and boots out. Akira went about covering Yukiko with two thick sweatshirts before herself.
Just as she tied up her own boots, the crescendo of a loud humming sounded, ending with a thundering explosion lighting up the night sky. The front of the house blossomed with smoke and fire, sending me falling to my ass, covering my ears.
As the sound died away, Yukiko could be heard howling again, pieces of flaming wood falling around us. Most of the house was blown away, the rest burning. Through my bionic eye I could just make out a UAV – a Benecorp MV-X Iron Tempest Drone – flying off. In the distance, gunfire continued popping.
“Come on,” I said, climbing to my feet, “we have to meet up with Rosy.”
Akira needed no convincing. Aveena was once again paralyzed with fear. Ellen looked torn, not wanting to leave Darren’s corpse, but knowing she had to go. I grabbed Aveena’s arm and started pulling her with me, Akira following. Ellen took a few moments to leave the corpse and catch up with us. We stopped at the edge of the crater.
“The truck…” Akira said.
The explosion devastated my vehicle, the burning remnants flipped on its side at the end of the driveway.
“We go on foot,” I said, “we’ll be more difficult to target, anyway.”
Several blocks away, further into the city, another explosion rumbled through the cold air, dimly lighting the street up as the MV-X flew off, struggling to gain altitude after the recoil. I knew immediately that it was Colonel Riviera’s house.
She was specifically targeted, too…
The citizens of Cortez didn’t need anyone to tell them to escape now, the roads crowded with fleeing people. I led us into the street. Cars honked, a line of seven speeding the other way down the usually empty road. Tires screeched to a halt as three soldiers in EXO:B-039s cut them off near the neighbor’s house a hundred yards away.
“Come on!” I shouted, running the other way down the street. Screams and the rapid fire of .50 caliber rifles echoed through the night.
I looked behind, waiting for the others to catch up.
Bullets flew out the car windows, back at the soldiers. The streets were filling with armed citizens scrambling in all directions. Bolting, I ducked down as stray bullets whizzed off the pavement.
I turned back around, keeping my people in front of me as we ran. Through my bionic eye I spotted a line of APC:B-021s – Benecorp made Armored Perrsonnel Carriers – careening through the next intersection, hurdling down the street toward us.
“This way!” I bellowed over chaotic gunfire as I veered off the street toward a house.
Akira and Ellen followed suit, Yukiko still crying in Akira’s arms. Aveena froze. The .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the lead APC:B-021 opened fire. I ran, crouched down, back into the street and grabbed Aveena’s arm. She gasped, startled. I pulled her. She started running, stumbled, dropping the duffel bag.
“Leave it!” I yelled.
She turned around, reached for the bag. A bullet exploded out the back of it. She grabbed the strap and turned back, eyes wide, following me.
We neared the porch, half running, half stumbling. I grabbed her again and threw her behind the wall as another burst of bullets rained down over the front yard. Chips of brick ejected off the porch column. I dove, getting behind cover, ground slamming into my chest.
More gunfire. Cortez citizens hiding in the garage across the street fired out the windows on the APC:B-021s. The lead vehicle swerved away, moving toward us. I aimed, firing at the gunner. He let out a shriek. The APC:B-021 hit the front porch with a metallic screech and came to a stop. The other five APC:B-021s concentrated fire on the garage, the door riddled with holes by the time I looked, no more gunfire coming from the windows.
I led us all behind the house, hearing someone in the APC:B-021 sho
ut something. I paused, Akira led the others into the back yard. I lifted my M16, taking aim with my bionic eye, and fired a burst into the window of the APC:B-021. The man’s head snapped back, blood splattering the driver beside him.
I ran to the back of the house, the .50 cals of the other APC:B-021s quiet. Voices gathered around the crashed APC:B-021, trying to rescue their fallen comrades. I set my backpack down, pulling out the two submachine guns, unfolding them and loading the magazines.
Aveena, Akira and Ellen watched me, their faces a mixture of fear and curiosity. I handed the two submachine guns to Akira and Ellen, gave the shotgun to Aveena, and took one of the pistols for myself.
“Right now while they’re distracted,” I said, grabbing one of the grenades and starting back around the other side of the house.
I didn’t look back to make sure they were coming with me. When the crashed APC:B-021 came into view, I could see a group of people gathered around it, some standing sentry. I pulled the pin on the grenade and tossed it toward them. I got down on a knee, aiming the M16.
Someone shouted just before the grenade went off, sending shrapnel into the crowd of CSA soldiers. One of the soldiers ran toward me, but I could see through my bionic eye that a chunk of his forehead was blown away, eyes blind with panic. Gunfire opened up behind me. I looked back, seeing Ellen walking toward him, firing bursts from the submachine gun.
“Hold off!” I said, seeing the injured soldier topple to the ground dead.
Ellen fired three more bursts into his corpse, continuing to walk into the front yard. I stood up, catching up to her, grabbing the back of her fatigues. She turned, fury in her eyes, as the other APC:B-021s opened fire. I pulled Ellen back, out of their sights as bullets tore the yard to shreds. The firing stopped abruptly.
Akira stood with Yukiko in one arm, the submachine gun in the other, back up against the side of the house. Aveena looked dazed, still standing near the back corner of the house.
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