The Survival Chronicles (Book 7): Hard Mercy

by Nally, Fergal F.

  Mercy blinked.

  I lost that envelope a long time ago. What was the address? What was the—?

  She took a deep breath.

  Annalise Young, Mission Home Road, Free Union, VA 22940. There it is, how in hell’s name did I remember that?

  “You OK?” Tawny was staring at Mercy from the driver’s seat. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost—”

  Mercy shook her head, “No… not a ghost Tawny. I think I’ve just discovered another Cobalt Biotech enhancement—”

  Flynn stirred and sat up rubbing his eyes, “What’s going on?”

  Mercy shrugged, “I just remembered my conversation with Billy-Ray, about his daughter, Annalise—”

  Flynn glanced at Tawny.

  Mercy nodded, “I promised I’d try and find her once we were finished in DC. I never thought we’d get out of DC alive, but we have and now we’re chasing Rose. Annalise is like us, she’s got Cobalt Biotech in her, they experimented on her too—”

  “Yeah, but how are we gonna find her?” Flynn stretched his arms.

  “I’ve got her address up here,” Mercy tapped her head. “Tawny pass me that pen and some paper from that clipboard—”

  Tawny passed Mercy the clipboard and pen from the driver’s seat pocket. She pulled a face, “This Annalise, if she’s like us she could be useful… maybe we should try and find her—”

  Mercy tore off three pieces of paper and wrote the address down. “Here, take the address so we’ve all got it. Mission Home, it’s in the mountains—”

  “Yeah, it’s Appalachian Trail country up there,” Flynn nodded. “Bears and shit—”

  “Bears and shit—” Mercy repeated, a smile on her face. “You’ve just condensed the whole outdoors to three words. Nice touch Flynn—”

  Flynn raised his eyebrows, “Hey, it’s early and I need coffee… and I’m hungry—”

  “Yeah, and I need a new rifle,” Mercy said, her voice hardening.

  Flynn grimaced, “Yeah, sorry about that… I threw it off the train. In fairness you had stuck that alpha pretty good with your bayonet—”

  Mercy shook her head, “No… I didn’t mean to blame you—”

  Flynn pulled a dazzling smile, “Gotcha, right there, gotcha—”

  Mercy laughed, “Yeah, I guess you did. Well, you are right, it was embedded in that thing’s chest, so it was difficult not to throw it over the side.”

  “I’ll take that,” Flynn replied.

  The sky lightened with cold morning light. Trees, interspersed with rolling countryside, sprawled on either side of the railway tracks as far as they could see. They sat in silence.

  Barnes is still outside. I hope he’s OK. I should go and check on him—

  “Does anyone have any idea where we are?” Tawny yawned.

  Without warning the diesel engine spluttered and died, the train juddered and started to slow.

  “What the fuck?” Tawny turned back to the driver’s console. “It wasn’t me, I didn’t touch a thing—”

  Flynn stood up and examined the control panel. He tapped a dial, “I wasn’t sure earlier… I didn’t want to say anything but there it is. We’re out of fuel—”

  The train’s speed dropped rapidly. Mercy watched the treeline on either side of the train.

  “Shit, there’s a lot of trees out there,” Tawny said. “I hate trees, give me the city any day—”

  Easy to get lost in there. At least Barnes has a compass and navigation skills—

  The train slowed to a walking pace then ground to a halt.

  “We’d better get away from here. Any local stiffs will be drawn by the sound of the train—” Flynn said, picking up his rifle.

  “You don’t need to tell us. Come on let’s ditch our ride—” Tawny jumped out of the driver’s seat and made for the cabin door.

  Barnes was outside on the walkway, staring at the trees. “It’s time to move out,” he said, his voice flat.

  Mercy looked at Barnes. The breeze ruffled his tangled hair.

  He looks like a down-and-out. Hah… that’s rich, we’re all down-and-outs now—

  Barnes lowered himself to the tracks and reached up to help the others. He took a bearing with his compass and waved them on. “You go ahead, I’ll take up the rear.”

  Mercy nodded, “I’ll take point, keep your eyes on our flanks.”

  The grey early morning light revealed the trees in a dull monotone. A cold damp gripped the air, misting their breath. They trudged along the tracks for an hour, the trees thinned, revealing overgrown fields beyond. Mercy’s eyes darted right and left. Overgrown vineyards replaced the fields. Rows of abandoned vines were just visible above the weed choked land.

  Wine country, where the hell are we?

  They continued for another half an hour and came to a railway bridge over a road. Mercy stopped and crouched down. Crows were circling above the tracks two hundred yards away.

  Not a good sign—

  She turned to the others and pointed at the crows.

  “That’s got bad news written all over it,” Tawny said.

  Barnes was checking the tracks ahead with his rifle scope.

  Mercy stepped up to him, “What do you see?”

  Barnes grunted, “Just the crows, nothing on the tracks, no movement, no nothing—”

  “What do you wanna do?” Flynn asked.

  Mercy paused, “Well, that’s Charlottesville in that direction. That’s where the train’s gone. We need to keep to the rail tracks otherwise,” she looked down at the road, “we’ll get lost.”

  Tawny nodded, “Agreed, I guess we proceed with caution. We should slow down and scope things out as we go.”

  Mercy nodded, “OK, let’s go.”

  Barnes stood up, “Man, I’m hungry, we’ve really gotta get some food, we can’t go on much longer without a break.”

  Mercy looked at Barnes.

  He doesn’t normally complain. He’s sweating and he looks wired, anxious even. Shit, he was using speed and god knows what else… maybe it’s early drug withdrawal. We need to find food and shelter quick, if he’s gonna crash it could be bad—

  Mercy reached into her pocket and pulled out a stick of chewing gum, “I know it’s not much Barnes, but have this, I took it from one of those NSA soldiers back in the Smithsonian. You look like you could use it—”

  Barnes’s eyes lit up, he took the gum and grunted, “Thanks.”

  Mercy turned and continued walking along the rail tracks, her eyes on the circling crows in the distance.

  What’s the difference between a raven and a crow? And a rook? Is it a murder of crows… or a parliament of crows? Or is that owls? What’s a jackdaw? What’s a magpie? Never mind, focus you idiot, they’re circling for a reason—

  They advanced a hundred yards. Buildings became visible in the distance. A heavily overgrown railroad siding appeared alongside the main track. Mercy stopped and turned to Barnes, she raised an eyebrow waiting for his verdict.

  Barnes knelt on one knee and peered through his rifle scope, “Abandoned train carriages on the siding ninety meters ahead. Old rail signals and some buildings in the distance. Hang on—” Barnes adjusted his scope and held his breath. “I see a sign. Bar…Barbour… Barboursville, VA. We’re in Barboursville—”

  Barnes looked up at the blank faces around him. “Well, don’t look at me, I ain’t from this neck of the woods. I couldn’t tell you how close we are to Charlottesville—”

  “We need intel, a map. We need to get our bearings. We need a plan—” Tawny said.

  Barnes let out a low whistle, “Hold on.” He pulled off his pack, reached inside and took out the NSA GPS tracking device. “There’s some extra functions on this I didn’t get to explore back at the Smithsonian. I wanted to save the battery. Maybe, maybe—” Barnes switched on the device. The screen lit up and he scrolled through a variety of displays. He stopped and looked up, holding the screen for them to see. “That’s what I’m talking about—”
>
  Mercy focused on the image, “It’s a map, and that’s… us, the flashing red dot?”

  Barnes nodded, “It sure is. It’s a you-are-here signal. So according to this, we’re about twenty klicks northeast of Charlottesville.”

  “Twenty klicks,” Mercy repeated. “That’s doable on foot, after a rest and some food—”

  Flynn pulled a face, “What’s the range of that thing?”

  Barnes raised an eyebrow, “Well it’s GPS, so the range is global… satellites permitting. Hold on… I see where you’re coming from.” He returned his attention to the device and fiddled with the settings. “Holy fuck—”

  “What?” Mercy said. “What is it Barnes? Barnes?”

  Mercy pulled at his sleeve so she could see the screen.

  Green dots—? Wait—

  Mercy looked up, “Those green dots, that’s the alpha queen and her pack isn’t it?”

  And Rose—

  Barnes nodded, “It sure is… and they ain’t in Charlottesville—”

  Tawny brought her rifle up, “What the hell? Where are they then?”

  Mercy glanced around, her voice quiet, “They’re here, somewhere up ahead. In Barboursville—”

  Hunter killers. These alphas aren’t feral anymore… they’re NSA-modified hunter killers—

  “Those crows, the alphas… they could be linked,” Flynn said.

  Mercy pulled out her HK45 pistol and racked the slide. There’s no sign of the NSA train up ahead. There’s no sign of NSA at all… it can only mean the alphas jumped off somewhere along here. Why, is anyone’s guess—”

  “These things ain’t dumb,” Tawny said.

  “OK, so we haven’t been rumbled yet. We’ve still got that advantage—” Mercy lowered her voice.

  “And we’ve got this,” Barnes held up the GPS tracker.

  “We’re close,” Flynn added.

  “So the hunters could become the hunted,” Tawny hefted her M4 carbine.

  Mercy rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes, “Maybe if we had some frags, some stun grenades, more firepower, but there’s just the four of us… and those fuckers are fast. No… we need a plan, we need intel, we need—”

  Barnes collapsed to the ground his arms and legs jerking. His eyes rolled up and he started foaming at the mouth. A second later he vomited and began choking.

  Christ—

  Chapter 18

  Crash

  “What the hell? Barnes—? Has he been bit?” Tawny exclaimed, levelling her M4 at Barnes.

  Mercy knelt beside Barnes, she examined his neck and arms, “No, this is different… he’s been acting strange. It’s drug withdrawal, he’s been using speed and probably some other shit to get himself through the last few weeks. Here, Flynn, help me roll him on his side, we need to protect his airway. Don’t stick anything in his mouth. Tawny, eyes out, three sixty degrees—”

  Flynn and Mercy managed to roll Barnes into the recovery position. Mercy extended his neck by lifting his jaw. The seizure lasted twenty seconds then subsided.

  “Shit, do you think his lips are blue? Where in hell was he getting speed from anyway?” Flynn said.

  Mercy leant in to check Barnes’s breathing, “Wherever there’s people there’s drugs. The NSA’s been using speed to keep their own troops going. Remember Deadstick and the Professor, back in Norfolk? They were supplying the NSA with drugs weren’t they? Barnes has been looting meth and pills from every NSA soldier we nail. He’s got a habit—”

  “Our very own Navy SEAL junkie… Christ,” Flynn responded.

  Mercy looked around, “Yeah, well, he needs help, and we’re not going to get very far with him in this state. I don’t know about this kind of stuff. Tawny? Have you any idea?”

  Tawny glanced at Barnes, “Yeah, it depends on what he’s been taking. But we’ve limited options out here, so it’ll have to be cold turkey or else—”

  Mercy frowned, “Or else… what?”

  “Or else we get more drugs for him,” Tawny finished.

  Mercy closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

  Christ, not another headache, not now, not—

  Flynn stirred, “Rose’s gonna have to wait. We need to get the big guy to safety. Someone’s gonna need to stay with him for the next twenty four hours; watch his breathing, keep him hydrated and warm.”

  Rose—? Barnes—? Don’t make me choose—

  “Come on, you and me Mercy. Help me lift him, we’ll take him to that abandoned train in the siding over there. I’ll stay with him, you and Tawny can go find food and water. We needed a rest anyway. We’re in no fit state to engage with the alpha queen at the moment—” Flynn said, shouldering Barnes’s sniper rifle and kit.

  Thank you Flynn. Thank you for making the decision for me—

  Tawny checked out the first few abandoned carriages and returned minutes later, “Train’s empty. Looks like someone used it as a shelter a long time ago. There’s old gas canisters and rusty tins. It’ll do as a shelter, we can make it secure—”

  Mercy and Flynn carried Barnes to the nearest carriage and lifted him up the steps. They placed him carefully on the floor, rolling him on his side up against the wall.

  Mercy checked her watch, “It’s 11:37 am; we’ve got the afternoon to find some food and water. You’re right Flynn, Rose will have to wait. We can do a recon and make a plan—”

  “And we’ve got this,” Tawny tapped the GPS device. “We can use the tracker and Barnes’s scope to spy on the alpha queen and her pack. See what’s going on—”

  “Yeah, intel is everything,” Mercy said. She gave Flynn a look.

  I don’t want to leave you. Not again, we’ve just found each other—

  Flynn gazed into her eyes, “We’ll be fine. I’ll stay with Barnes, you go, use the remaining daylight to get supplies. When you come back knock three times on the side of the train so I’ll know it’s you. Here take this—” Flynn handed Mercy his M4 carbine.

  Mercy shook her head, “No, you keep it, I’ve got my pistol. Anyway, we’re going to try and avoid trouble and we’ve got the biotech for normal tropes—”

  Stop drawing things out. Go, just go, do it, leave—

  Mercy embraced Flynn then turned away before he could see the tears in her eyes, “Yeah, understood. Stay awake Flynn, for him and us. I want no more crap today. Come on Tawny let’s rock—”

  Tawny nodded at Flynn and followed Mercy to the door, she glanced back. “Lock up after us, there’s stuff you can use to jam against the doors. The windows are intact in this carriage apart from the small one at the end, you can block it off with some of this trash,” she kicked at some of the garbage on the floor.

  Flynn smiled, “Go on, get out of here. Look after Mercy. I’ve got this—”

  “Later Flynn,” Tawny turned and went through the door.

  Mercy led the way. She checked the GPS tracker and continued along the railroad to the nearest buildings. She showed the tracker to Tawny.

  “The green dots have moved to the western edge of Barboursville, do you think they’re leaving?” Tawny asked.

  “Who knows? Who can imagine what’s going through the mind of that alpha bitch?” Mercy replied, the anger unmistakable in her voice.

  She’s going to get away again—

  “I’m not sure those things have minds,” Tawny replied. “We can search the buildings on this side of the town, we should be OK there,” she tapped the tracker’s screen.

  Mercy put the device away and looked ahead, “Let’s do it. Remember, we don’t know what your biotech is capable of yet. You should be invisible to normal tropes, unless you attack them… then they’ll wake up to you. But we don’t know for sure, so follow my lead. We go in stealthily and we only attack if we’re attacked—”

  “Understood,” Tawny replied.

  They walked down the main road. A road sign proclaimed: US ROUTE 33.

  We’re headed the right way—

  The breeze rustled the long grass on eit
her side of the road. Birds sang in the trees, crickets chirped in the weeds, honeysuckle scent laced the air.

  Everything seems normal… except for those damn crows in the sky—

  Mercy halted at the first building.

  Looks like some kind of small school or something—

  The building was set back from the road on its own plot of land, the driveway winding through an overgrown front lawn.

  Mercy looked at Tawny, “You ready to do this?”

  “You bet,” Tawny answered. “We’re gonna get us some nice steaks and beer in this place.”

  “Yeah, right. Always think positive. Aim high—” Mercy walked through the open gate. She stood in the driveway and waited, listening.

  Tawny closed her eyes, “This smells like… old death—”

  Mercy glanced at Tawny, “Is that just you… or is it your biotech talking?”

  Tawny shrugged, “I dunno, a bit of both maybe? This place feels… undisturbed, it’s from the time of the Fall—”

  “Jeez Tawny, you make it sound like an undiscovered tomb from the Valley of the Kings in Egypt or something,” Mercy replied. She pulled out her combat knife. “Let’s keep it quiet—”

  Mercy went up to the nearest window. Drapes obscured her view. She moved to the front door, it was locked by an iron bar and a heavy padlock.

  “Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to make this place secure,” Mercy said, peering in through the stained glass panels on either side of the door.

  Tawny let out a low whistle, “Look, over here—”

  Mercy joined Tawny in front of the next window. A piece of cardboard had been taped to the inside of the window. Faded words were scrawled on the card, the message still clear.

  “PLEASE HELP US—” Mercy read out.

  “Shit… this doesn’t feel right,” Tawny said.

  Mercy tensed, “What? You think it’s a trap?”

  Tawny shook her head, “No, not that. It feels like some bad shit went down here, like some kind of crime, CSI stuff—”