The Survival Chronicles (Book 7): Hard Mercy

by Nally, Fergal F.

  Mercy squeezed off another controlled burst into the dark tunnel. Something jerked and flailed backwards. Her magazine ran dry and she brought her torch to bear on the tunnel ahead, illuminating a scene of carnage. Three NSA soldiers were dead in the narrow passageway, riddled by her bullets, their bayonetted M4s lying beside them.

  Christ, a rearguard?

  Mercy looked down at Reyes, who lay slumped, unmoving at her feet.

  Dammit, we’ve lost our guide—

  Mercy leaned against the door frame.

  Shit Reyes, I had questions to ask you. Guess I’ll never know now, it’s not every day I run into a Cobalt Biotech operative. Perhaps it’s for the best though—

  Flynn leant over her shoulder and surveyed the scene, “You’ve not lost your touch Dawes. That’s a sweet kill zone right there—”

  Four more lives gone. And for what—?

  Mercy discarded the empty M16 and took one of the bayonetted M4 carbines. She searched the NSA bodies for ammunition and found nine magazines which she shared with Flynn and Tawny.

  Mercy entered the tunnel, her M4 at the ready. She kept up a steady pace. Three minutes later the floor started sloping up. She reached a blast door, held her breath and turned the handle.

  It’s open—

  Relief flooded through her. The door opened into a shaft occupied by a spiral staircase. She went up, taking two steps at a time.

  Hang in there Rose, we’re on our way—

  Mercy’s breath came in ragged gasps as she staggered up the final steps. Her torch flickered briefly.

  Shit, the batteries are running out—

  She shook the torch and the beam rallied, pushing back the darkness.

  A door—

  The others followed her, their breathing laboured.

  Mercy stepped up to the door and turned the handle. She pushed and swore as the hinges grated. Cold air washed in from outside, light rain shimmered in her torchlight. Mercy pointed the torch down, covering its beam with her fingers. She stepped out into the night, her breath misting the air.

  Voices. Shouting. The smell of soot. Mercy frowned.

  What in god’s name?

  She ran along the ivy-festooned concrete passage, emerging seconds later onto a railroad siding.

  Flynn ran up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Wait up Mercy, you can’t take on the whole world—”

  A shrill whistle pierced the night.

  Mercy cursed and pointed at a steam train pulling out of the station a hundred yards away. “Looks like some of the NSA are getting away—”

  “Yeah… Reyes said they had a redoubt in Charlottesville—” Flynn replied.

  A high-pitched beeping came from behind. Mercy swung around and raised her eyebrows. Barnes was fiddling with the GPS tracking device.

  “What? What is it?” Mercy asked, her voice tense.

  Barnes looked up, confusion on his face. He pointed at the departing train, “The tracker… that alpha queen and her pack…” Barnes looked down at the screen, “it says they’re on the train—”

  Mercy stared at the departing train.

  Rose is on that train—?

  The steam train’s whistle went again. Smoke enveloped the train as it gathered speed, leaving the station behind. Mercy sank to her knees, the rain glistening in her hair.

  No, no, no. Rose—

  Chapter 16

  Chase

  “A steam train?” Tawny said.

  “Yeah, old school, so steampunk,” Flynn muttered.

  Mercy lifted her head, “The alpha queen’s on that train… which means Rose is on that train—”

  “Which means we go after it,” Barnes growled. “Charlottesville… that’s close to a hundred miles away.”

  “That thing’s an antique but it’ll be fast, barring any obstructions on the tracks—” Mercy stood up.

  “I doubt the NSA know they have those alphas on board. They’ll have stowed away somewhere—” Tawny said.

  “Stowed away? How intelligent are these alphas? Do they really have a plan? What the hell do they want with Rose?” Flynn sounded exasperated.

  Several distant shrieks pierced the night.

  We’re not safe—

  “I smell diesel fumes,” Flynn said.

  “Me too,” Barnes agreed.

  “Where’s it coming from?” Tawny asked, looking around.

  “From over there,” Mercy pointed at an engine shed in the distance. “Come on, let’s take a look.”

  They reached the engine shed a minute later. The fumes were stronger.

  “I can hear an engine in there,” Tawny said.

  Mercy nodded, “On me, safeties off.” She led the way around the side of the shed to the front entrance. Dim light spilled out onto the wet tracks. Mercy stood to one side of the entrance and listened.

  No voices, no sign of life, just the engine noise—

  Mercy glanced at the others then turned the corner and entered the shed. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the yellow track-maintenance train.

  There’s no one here. They’ve left in a hurry, the engine’s still running—

  Footsteps behind.

  “The place is deserted, wonder what they were doing with that thing?” Flynn said, he walked forwards to peer into the driver’s cabin.

  Mercy followed him.

  They could’ve used it to push the steam train into position if they were in a hurry. It’d take the steam engine a while to build up a head of steam—

  “Reckon they’ve used this thing like a tug to get the old train out of hiding. There’s a large siding shed back there where they could’ve kept it hidden—” Barnes said, stepping up beside Mercy.

  “Yeah… maybe, whatever,” Mercy said, her mind racing.

  Wait, could we—?

  Flynn climbed up onto the diesel engine and disappeared into the driver’s cab. He popped his head out a few seconds later, “Hey, it looks pretty straightforward. I reckon I could drive this thing. Jump aboard—”

  Mercy raised her eyebrows. A smile ghosted her lips.

  It’s good to have you back Flynn. So good—

  They squeezed into the driver’s cabin and watched as Flynn explored the controls. He pushed a large button on the control panel. A loud horn sounded on the train’s roof.

  Flynn swore, “No… that’s was not what I wanted—”

  Shit, that will bring the dead down on us—

  Mercy kept quiet.

  Don’t say it. Give him time—

  Flynn’s hands hovered over the control panel. “Here, press this to forward and—” Flynn pressed a knob and pulled a lever back. The engine responded and the train moved forwards.

  “Good job Flynn, keep it up,” Tawny said.

  The train left the siding shed and merged with the main track.

  “Shit,” Mercy said, her voice tense. “Trouble ahead—”

  A flood of undead was pouring onto the platform from the station building. “How fast can this thing go Flynn? Those stiffs will reach the tracks in—”

  Mercy stopped talking. The undead spilled over the platform and onto the tracks ahead.

  “Christ,” Flynn muttered. He pulled the power lever back. The train responded, gathering speed.

  We’re doing about… twenty miles an hour—

  Barnes opened the door, “I’m going to make sure none of those things grab onto us. I could use some help—”

  Barnes and Tawny stood on the narrow walkway on the right side of the train. Mercy went to the walkway on left side of the train. The train struck the leading alphas, they disappeared under the engine wheels. Mercy struggled to see in the dark. She had one hand on the guard rail, the other clutched her M4 carbine. A series of gunshots came from the far side of the train.

  Stay put… Barnes and Tawny are old hands, they’ll do it right. Keep your eyes peeled. It just takes one alpha to get on board to turn this into a Class A clusterfuck—

  Mercy moved up and down
the walkway, her eyes glued to the side of the train and the tracks below. The seconds ticked by as they pulled away from the station. Behind them more alphas spilled out over the platform onto the tracks. They ran after the train.

  Come on Flynn, give it more juice, push the pedal to the metal—

  Mercy’s eyes widened.

  Jesus, there’s… hundreds of them—

  The train started slowing.

  Shit, Flynn what’s wrong—?

  Mercy raced back to the driver’s cabin and wrenched the door open. “Why are we stopping? They’re behind us—”

  An electronic alarm was sounding from the control panel.

  Flynn was frantic, his hands hovering over the controls. “What the actual fuck? What did I do? Shit—”

  Gunshots came from outside.

  Mercy stared at the control panel, a look of concentration on her face.

  Remember that TV programme? About the railroads? That… yes, the dead man’s switch—

  Mercy leaned in through the door and yelled, “Flynn, look for the dead man’s switch... it might be a pedal on the floor. It’s a safety thing… stand on it to keep the train going, you might need to keep hitting it—”

  Flynn stamped on the floor, “Found it.”

  The train shuddered and started to gain speed again. Relief swept over Mercy.

  All the crap I used to watch on TV, thank you Documentary Channel—

  Flynn adjusted the controls, “I think this is as fast as she’ll go… twenty, maybe thirty miles an hour.” He glanced back at Mercy, “I’ve got this, leave it to me, watch yourself—”

  Mercy turned back to the narrow walkway, her eyes focusing on the tracks behind. They were pulling away from the undead horde. She stood at the handrail, her eyes on the side of the train. They passed under a footbridge, shapes fell from above. Mercy counted three alphas landing on the tracks behind them. She looked up, three more alphas were rising to their feet on the mid-section of the train.

  It’s raining the bastards now—

  The nearest alpha turned towards Mercy, its form just visible in the dim light.

  Mercy yelled, “Barnes, Tawny watch your backs—”

  The alpha launched itself at Mercy. She lifted her bayonetted M4 carbine and squeezed the trigger firing a burst into it. Three rounds hit the alpha before it crashed on top of her, impaling itself on her bayonet. Mercy’s back ground against the handrail, the alpha’s weight compressing her chest. She struggled for breath, trying to push the alpha away. The train juddered and slowed, then picked up speed. Gunfire erupted on the other side of the train.

  Oh. My. God—

  The alpha’s stench was overwhelming. Mercy held onto her M4 as the alpha squirmed on the bayonet, its fingers raking her chest and arms.

  Get. It. Off—

  The alpha craned its neck forwards and snapped at Mercy’s face, its yellowed teeth inches away. Mercy extended away from the alpha, leaning out over the handrail into the speeding darkness. A blur reached out beside her. Mercy jerked her head to avoid the swift movement.

  “Look away—” Flynn’s voice.

  Intense light erupted in front of Mercy’s face. She closed her eyes and turned away. Flynn thrust the burning emergency flare into the alpha’s mouth, up through its rotten hard palate into its brain. The flare lit up the alpha’s skull from the inside. Its eyes burst, exploding in a wet spray of blood-filled light. Its body jerked as its mouth spewed sparks and flame.

  Mercy felt the alpha’s weight leave her chest as Flynn lifted it by the legs. He threw it over the handrail. The impaled M4 was wrenched from Mercy’s hands as the incandescent alpha disappeared over the side of the train.

  “Mercy move—”

  Flynn—?

  Mercy’s eyes snapped open. The tunnel wall raced towards her head.

  What—?

  Mercy froze.

  Chapter 17

  Barboursville VA

  Mercy blinked.

  This is it—

  A distant scream. Pulling at her waist. Her legs buckling. Her hair brushed by the dark stone of the tunnel. Falling. Her cheek pressing against the harsh cold of the engine walkway. Wet. Tears.

  I’m still alive. Why am I still alive? I should have died. I wanted it all to end. I wanted to die—

  “Mercy, it’s OK. It’s OK, you made it, you’re all right. We’re through the tunnel—” Flynn’s voice in her ear.

  Mercy turned her head and looked up into the eyes of the man holding her.

  Flynn, it’s you. How the hell did you do that?

  “Flynn… I…” Mercy mumbled.

  “Come on babe, you’re freezing. Let’s get you inside, there’s a heater in the cab. We’ll get you warmed up,” Flynn said, helping Mercy to her feet.

  They entered the train driver’s cabin.

  Tawny was standing beside the driver’s seat. “Nice work dude,” she nodded at the fire extinguisher Flynn had wedged against the dead man’s pedal to keep the train going.

  Flynn grunted, “Here, help me with Mercy, she had a close call back there.”

  They manhandled Mercy into the driver’s seat and turned the wall heater on. Flynn took off his jacket and placed it around Mercy’s shoulders.

  Mercy turned to Tawny, “Where’s Barnes? Is he OK?”

  “Yeah, he’s fine, he’s riding shotgun up top. We wasted two of those jumpers from the bridge, close shave but it worked out. I saw part of what happened on your side. Flynn busted some sweet ninja moves, impressive—” Tawny said.

  “Yeah, just lucky I guess,” Flynn replied.

  Luck? I wonder if—?

  Mercy turned to face Flynn. “I should be dead… I only had a second or two. You made those moves super quick, I mean you were fast—”

  Flynn frowned, “What are you saying?”

  Mercy shrugged and looked at Tawny, “You’ve both been enhanced by Cobalt Biotech. God knows what they had in mind for you. We have to assume you’re GPS tagged… like the alpha queen and her pack on that steam train. You’ve both got the NSA tattoos on your skin so—”

  Tawny interrupted, “Good point. Wait, I’ll get Barnes to see if he can locate us on the tracker—”

  Mercy nodded, “Sounds like a good idea.”

  Tawny disappeared outside.

  Mercy looked at the driver’s console. “How fast are we going?”

  Flynn glanced over Mercy’s shoulder at the numbers on the screen, “About thirty miles an hour—”

  Mercy stared out of the rain streaked driver’s window. “A hundred miles to Charlottesville, thirty miles an hour. So it’ll take us about three hours twenty to get there—”

  Flynn grunted, “I guess. Provided there’s no shit on the way.”

  “Provided there’s no shit on the way,” Mercy repeated.

  Tawny entered the cabin holding the GPS tracker. “Barnes had a go, he couldn’t find me or Flynn registering on this thing. He told me to double check, so…” Tawny pulled a face and held the tracker up, scrolling through the search function.

  Mercy glanced at Flynn.

  “Nothing,” Tawny said, “nada—”

  “Well ain’t that a surprise?” Mercy said. “I wonder why? What were they going to use you guys for?”

  “Maybe they hadn’t finished the process,” Flynn replied. “Maybe they were going to tag us at the end—”

  Mercy frowned, “Or maybe you’ve got a different tag? Something that requires a different tracker?”

  Tawny frowned, “I guess we’ll never know.”

  The cabin heater had steamed up the windows.

  Mercy shrugged off Flynn’s jacket and handed it to him. “Well, you both know what I have to do… just in case?”

  Tawny rolled her eyes. Flynn grinned.

  “I’m going to check you both for tracking devices,” Mercy said. “Tawny, can you give us a few minutes? I’ll check Flynn first—”

  Tawny shook her head and pulled a face. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll be
outside keeping that hairy-arsed Sasquatch company. Give me a shout when you want me—”

  Twenty minutes later Mercy sent Flynn out and called for Tawny. She checked her friend for tracking devices.

  “Nothing. Not a thing,” Mercy announced. “The two of you are clear. Unless they’ve done something else—”

  Maybe I’m just being paranoid—

  “I guess we’ll just have to go with that then,” Tawny said, putting her shirt back on.

  “We’ll have to keep a close eye on your… performance,” Mercy said. “Rose noticed some time back that her night vision had improved with her biotech. I seem to heal quickly and my pain tolerance has gone up… so you two might start to notice some weird stuff pretty soon.”

  “Yeah, well. You said Flynn had super-fast reactions or reflexes… saving you back there like he did—” Tawny said, pulling on her boots.

  “Super-fast,” Mercy smiled. “I like your choice of words. We could call him Broadband. What do you think?”

  Tawny stopped doing up her laces and looked at Mercy, “Broadband? Why not just call him WiFi? We could call him WiFi Boy—”

  Mercy laughed, “A helmet name? Like in the military? I like it—”

  Oh my god, I just… laughed—

  Mercy looked at Tawny and couldn’t stop smiling.

  I missed you guys. I really did. You are family—

  Mercy opened her eyes. Tawny was in the train driver’s seat.

  No sleep but at least we’re warm and dry… and moving—

  She checked her watch: 5:37 am.

  Getting closer to Charlottesville—

  Mercy sat up.

  Charlottesville. Billy-Ray’s daughter—

  The flashback was vivid, Billy-Ray’s voice filled Mercy’s head: “I need to get to Charlottesville, my daughter… she’s hiding out in Shenandoah, we’ve got a cabin there… my daughter, she’s like you. I saw how you walked through those tropes and they ignored you, she’s like you… and Rose. The NSA, they did something to her before I got her out of Richmond eighteen months ago. They were rounding up kids and young people, she’s fifteen, she can walk through tropes. She’s all alone up in the mountains, I need to get to her… if I don’t make it, once you’ve finished your business in D.C. find my Annalise and give her this—”