by E. R. Torre
“Nox?” B’taav said.
The desert and Nox faded away and he was back in the forest.
The memories can’t exist together.
B’taav spotted General Spradlin and Becky Waters ahead.
“The helicopters reached the wreck,” General Spradlin told Becky Waters.
The two continued down an incline and headed west and toward a river. From there, they would follow it to a small town.
Becky Waters moved as quickly as General Spradlin but, in time, slowed. A small limp became more pronounced while General Spradlin gained both speed and strength. The work, B’taav knew, of the nano-probes in his body.
“Wait,” Becky Waters finally said.
She drew several sharp breaths and winced.
“Let me carry you,” General Spradlin said.
Before she could protest, General Spradlin lifted her up and moved on.
Even with his nano-probe rich blood, the General’s body was still human and carrying Becky Waters required considerable effort.
There once again came a sound, this time of a single helicopter.
“They’ll find us,” Becky Waters said. “You have to leave me.”
General Spradlin shook his head.
“If you don’t, we’ll both be captured.”
“I—”
“You know I’m right,” Becky Waters said.
Despite his misgivings, General Spradlin slowed. He released Becky Waters.
“I will come back for you,” he said.
They looked at each other and for a moment held their gaze. General Spradlin moved closer to her and gently laid his hand on her cheek.
“This won’t end here,” he said. “I promise.”
B’taav stayed with Becky Waters.
The sound of the helicopter grew louder still until he spotted the craft moving in. Becky Waters ran as quickly as she could despite the pain and in the opposite direction of General Spradlin.
It didn’t take long for the helicopter to find and approach her.
A speaker came on.
“Vy okruzheny. Ostanovites', ili my budem strelyat'.”
Becky Waters ignored the order to stop.
“Eto posledneye preduprezhdeniye!” the voice over the speaker said.
Becky Waters still moved but stopped abruptly when a barrage of bullets ripped the ground before her.
“Son of a bitch,” she muttered.
She raised her hands and remained still while the helicopter landed in a nearby clearing.
Soldiers poured out and rushed to her side. They slammed Becky Waters against the ground and searched her for weapons. When they were done, they roughly escorting her back to the vehicle and handcuffed her to the frame of a metal chair.
The helicopter then lifted off and headed back to the crash site.
Moments later, General Spradlin emerged from the bush.
He moved in their direction.
The helicopter hovered over the crash site.
Two other helicopters were already there. A group of soldiers were moving through and searching the wreckage. Bodies lay covered on the ground beside their burnt out craft.
The helicopter carrying Becky Waters landed and the soldiers within exited. They approached their companions and helped them search the area.
Becky Waters was left handcuffed in the helicopter that brought her in while a single soldier carrying a handgun guarded her. She watched the other soldiers and the forest. Her eyes took in every detail and her face reflected a growing fear.
In the near distance came a sound.
It was like a whisper, unintelligible yet clear. Becky Waters shivered and said:
“Nam nuzhno uyti.”
The soldier guarding her was surprised she spoke his language.
“I thought you… American,” he said.
“Yesli vy khotite zhit', nam nuzhno uyti,” she said. “Teper'.”
“Leave… now?” the soldier said and smiled. “You afraid of noise in forest?”
“The noise doesn’t scare me,” Becky Waters said. “What scares the shit out of me is what’s making it.”
The soldier pointed his handgun at her.
“You try scare me, too?”
The whisper grew louder.
“I came here to investigate that noise. And the rumors about this place.”
“Children stories.”
“There have been twenty three disappearances in this area in the past decade. The people of Kamchasky refuse to come to this part of the forest.”
“Silly talk,” the soldier said. The grip on his weapon tightened.
Around the crash site, everyone was aware of the sounds. The whispers were soon followed by clicks and the scraping of metal on metal.
One of the soldiers, a burly man in his thirties and dressed in a crisp green Commander outfit, approached the helicopter and Becky Waters.
“What is sound?” he demanded.
“We need to leave,” Becky Waters said.
“No,” the commander said. “You talk. You tell me what is sou—”
A scream came from the other side of the crash site.
“Georgy?” the commander said.
The soldier guarding Becky Water was on his feet.
“Nam nuzhno uyti, komandir!” Becky Waters said.
“We leave when I say!” the commander yelled back. He motioned to the young man guarding her. “If she moves, shoot.”
He ran toward the source of the screams.
“Please,” Becky Waters told her guardian. “We have to go.”
The soldier guarding Becky Waters eyed her and his companions.
“What is this?” he said.
Another scream. Then, movement. Shadowy, quick. Branches and leaves shook. A wind blew through the crash site. All was quiet while the soldiers froze in place.
Seconds passed and all remained quiet.
The soldiers started to relax. One of them chuckled. The commander stood at the center of the wreck site. He spun around and, after a while, a relieved smile appeared on his face.
“So silly—”
A body flew across the air and, with a terrible crunch, smashed against the ground before him.
The soldier’s face was a bloody mess, his head warped and unidentifiable.
There was a yell and the soldiers fired in unison and at unseen enemies. More screams were heard and another soldier was swallowed whole into the earth. Moments later, a bloody, flesh fountain spewed out of the ground.
“We need to leave,” Becky Waters yelled.
The soldier aimed his gun out the helicopter’s door. His face was very pale.
More soldiers screamed and one of the three helicopters, like the unfortunate soldier, was sucked into the ground. Unlike him, the process of devouring the helicopter was slow. The chopper’s body cracked like an oversized egg and metal screamed as it was compacted and pulled down.
Once the helicopter was gone, one of the soldiers fired into the hole it disappeared into. The moment he did, a metal tentacle shot out and speared him through his face. The tentacle emerged from the other side of the man’s head and held him still and on his feet. The poor soldier’s arms fell to his side and his rifle clattered to the ground.
Another soldier ran to the dead man’s side. He screamed and fired at the tentacle. It moved, rapidly, and retracted back into the ground. The speared soldier collapsed and his friend checked to see –in vain– if he was somehow still alive.
There was a rumble under his feet and before he could react, the tentacle emerged from right under him. It shot straight up and through the man’s groin, the length of his body, and out the top of his head.
“God help us,” the soldier guarding Becky Waters said. He jumped out of the helicopter and ran toward his companions.
“No!” Becky yelled. “Stay still!”
But it was too late.
More tentacles emerged from the ground, some directly beneath the soldiers, others a few feet away. T
he soldiers –those still alive– retreated as another of the helicopters was pulled into the ground.
The earth moved and the sound of metal ripping and stretching was again heard. The whisper had grown into an angry, alien scream.
Upon hearing it, the soldiers either stood their ground and fought or ran for their lives. Some disappeared into the forest while others were stopped. Violently.
The ground continued its rumbling and lights emerged from below.
A metallic creature emerged from under the ground.
Blood red lights, the creature’s visual sensors, took in the forest around it.
Those mechanical eyes settled on the remaining helicopter and its sole, handcuffed passenger.
Becky Waters pulled at her restraints but there was no way she could free herself.
The last of the soldiers were taken out, their bloody remains staining both the machine and the ground.
The creature was fully exposed. It looked like a metal bug and was the size of a small tank. It was a nano-probe robot sent by the Locust Plague to infiltrate this Russian community and its nearby military base. It did so while burrowing underground.
The creature’s blood red eyes moved away from Becky Waters and toward the crashed helicopter General Spradlin and she emerged from.
It sensed something in the craft’s wreckage and burnt equipment and its tentacles reached out toward them, carefully.
“That’s it, grab the equipment,” Becky Waters muttered.
At that moment, she knew her life was over, but if the creature should accidentally set off any of those things they brought with them…
“Wishful thinking,” a voice said.
Becky Waters spun around and was shocked to find General Spradlin at the helicopter’s side. He quickly got into the chopper and sat in the pilot’s chair.
“Hope I remember how to fly these Russian pieces of shit,” he said.
The sound of the chopper’s engine starting up drew the creature’s attention but it was torn between going after the helicopter and continuing its examination of Spradlin’s equipment.
“Stay,” Spradlin said.
With his free hand he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a remote control unit. He pressed several buttons on it and the equipment the creature was examining came to life. Lights flashed and an electronic hum was heard. The creature’s attention returned to the equipment and, for the moment, it ignored the helicopter.
This allowed Spradlin time to get the rotors up to full speed. The chopper lifted off.
“Hang on,” Spradlin said.
The creature realized its remaining prey was getting away, moved its spider-like metallic legs and chased the departing helicopter.
“I don’t think so,” General Spradlin.
He pressed one final button on the remote control and the equipment from their helicopter lit up even more brightly.
The thing’s face –if one could describe the metallic monstrosity as such– emitted a howl before the equipment exploded in a brilliant, blinding light.
The force of the explosion caused the helicopter to wobble wildly and threatened to slam it into the nearby trees. Spradlin fought to regain control even as electromagnetic arcs licked the area.
“Stay up!” Spradlin yelled.
Becky Waters held on for dear life. Each rotation brought them closer to the metal creature even as its body blackened.
“Get us out of here!” Becky Waters shouted.
“I’m trying!” General Spradlin yelled back. “Never did like these fucking Kamovs!”
The helicopter’s engine groaned while the creature’s tentacles extended and merged to form one last, strong appendage. It closed in on the helicopter, closer and closer…
The explosion and the shock wave that followed pushed the helicopter away. It ripped through the forest, incinerating trees and obliterating the crash site wreckage.
Though General Spradlin still had little control of the vehicle, they emerged near another clearing and, soon enough, the helicopter’s flight was stabilized.
“Are you ok?” General Spradlin yelled.
“Set her down,” Becky Waters replied.
81
They landed close to the torched area.
General Spradlin sat in the pilot’s seat for several seconds after the chopper’s motor cut out, taking deep breaths and forcing his tension to ease. Once it did, he got up and approached the still handcuffed Becky Waters.
She looked as shocked as he felt. Her eyes were down cast and her mind whirled with visions of blood and fire. Of the people –too damn many people– whose lives were taken.
General Spradlin was about to say something but chose not to. He moved past Becky Waters and searched the helicopter. After a while he said:
“I can’t find the key.”
“Key?” Becky Waters asked.
“You know. To the handcuffs.”
Becky Waters emerged from her stupor and realized she was still handcuffed to the frame of the chair. She shook her head and let out a laugh.
“Hell of a kinky way to travel.”
A smile worked its way onto General Spradlin’s face. It didn’t last long.
“We lost her,” Becky Waters said. “Samantha’s really dead.”
General Spradlin reached for Becky Waters but she angrily shook him away.
“She’s dead. She’s… she’s fucking dead… and we… we couldn’t do anything about it.”
“It’s war,” General Spradlin said.
“You think I don’t know that?” Becky Waters said. The sadness was quickly replaced with anger. “Is this where it ends for us? Death in some foreign land far from home? We couldn’t even… we couldn’t even bring back her body. Goddammit Paul, we couldn’t even do that!”
“What do you want me to say? That everything will come out all right in the end? There are no guarantees. Not for any of us.”
They were quiet for several seconds before Becky Waters spoke.
“I’m leaving.”
“You’re serious? The war won’t stop because you’ve had enough of it.”
“I’ve fought too many battles beside you and… and Samantha. I need to get out of this, if only a little while.”
“And go where? Becky, there’s no place to hide.”
“I just need a little time. Long enough to… you’ve got others. You won’t be alone. Please Paul, let me go.”
General Spradlin slowly returned to the pilot’s chair.
“You know I’ll miss you,” he said.
“I’ll miss you too,” Becky Waters said. “More than I can say.”
In a matter of seconds the helicopter lifted off and disappeared into the distance.
B’taav watched it leave. Afterwards, his attention shifted to the ground below him. He stood near one of the holes the nano-probe creature emerged from.
He saw little more than darkness but felt something familiar.
Something was down there, waiting.
That darkness surrounded him and he was gone.
B’taav was in a glass booth.
He stood next to a man covered in what appeared to be a layer of sand.
It was B’taav himself and the sand covering him was a blanket of nano-probes. They were trying their best to suffocate him.
This happened a little over a week ago and on the planet Earth.
What are we but our memories?
“These are mine,” he said.
The second B’taav held a memory chip and, with every ounce of strength he had left, pushed it into a slot within that glass booth.
Lemner’s Passkey, the legendary technocrat’s A.I. program, was released into the chamber and infected the nano-probes.
Many died instantly, their microscopic bodies unable to take this new information. The rest remained active but Lemner’s Passkey changed them.
B’taav’s earlier self fell to the ground, his life fading fast, while the present moment B’taav heard the famil
iar sound of Nox’s motorcycle and watched her drive toward the glass booth. She pulled a handgun from a holster at her side and fired.
The booth’s glass shattered and, once it did, untold billions of the infected nano-probes were released into the swirling air.
Nox drove through the broken glass and came to a screeching stop in the chamber. She grabbed the nano-probe covered B’taav and pulled him onto the motorcycle’s seat. A thick layer of nano-probes fell off him.
“You alive, Independent?” she said.
B’taav groaned.
“Alive enough. Hang on.”
Nox gunned the engine and sent the cycle forward and toward the opposite end of the chamber. There was nothing beyond the glass and the booth was nine floors up.
Nox, B’taav, and the motorcycle fell off the side of the building while the present day B’taav watched and waited.
Seconds later the Xendos rose up and over the booth’s floor.
B’taav saw his past self and Nox float in the air before the Xendos. They were held by the vessel’s gravity hook and pulled into the ship’s decompression chamber and safety.
The ship continued rising and eventually disappeared into the distance. As it did, fusion torpedoes rained down from the skies and landed around the building and what remained of the Big City.
B’taav stared forward.
An army of metal machines moved toward the building. They were nano-probe robots intent on ridding Earth of its last human presence. But their movement stalled. Lemner’s Passkey had infected and paralyzed them while behind them a mighty wind roared. Hurricane force winds caught up with the still machines and ripped them apart.
It was the end of the Locust Plague’s nano-probe army.
But B’taav noticed something else.
The robot remains were not only torn apart, they were re-arranged into something else.
From under the ground metallic beams rose up. These structures were unaffected by the winds and joined together with the nano-probe robot remnants to create the base of an incredibly large structure.
“What in Hades?” B’taav said.
A female figure appeared behind him. It was the half-machine, half-human Becky Waters.
“B’taav?” she called out. “Do you see me?”