by Eric Warren
“You’re damn right it was,” she said, taking two steps toward him. “So what now, am I supposed to believe you’ve turned a corner and want to help us? What happens next time your life is in danger?”
“No,” he said. “No more excuses. Like I said, I convinced Jairo to let me help you. Whatever you need. I know no matter what I say you won’t believe me, so the only way to convince you is to show you. With my actions. Despite everything I’ve done, I still love you Arista. I know I failed you, but that doesn’t mean you should be hindered from what needs to be done. What do you need?”
Arista glanced to Blu who gave her a slight nod. “We need to get to the infirmary,” Arista finally said, after a long and uncomfortable silence.
“Understood,” Jonn said, motioning for the two Peacekeepers to move out of the way.
“And I don’t want to see another Peacekeeper or anyone else on the way there,” she said.
“Done,” he replied as she and Blu passed him. His eyes found her fist again, but didn’t linger. She wasn’t sure what to believe; he could just be scared of her arm, but they didn’t have time to waste. Blu needed to get to work on the arm if they were going to have any chance of stopping Charlie.
“Do you have a plan?” Jonn asked, holding the door open.
“Yes,” she replied. “Which involves getting to the infirmary.”
He nodded, then pushed the button for the fifteenth floor and left Arista and Blu alone in the elevator as the doors closed.
“What do you think?” Blu asked as soon as they were alone.
“I still don’t trust him,” Arista said. “A speech about turning over a new leaf isn’t going to do much, not coming from him. And honestly I don’t know if there’s anything he could do, other than stay out of my way.”
“Sounded sincere to me,” Blu muttered.
“You’re a romantic,” Arista said, finally opening her hand. “Don’t let it blind you.”
***
Sniper rifle slung on her back and pistols tucked into holsters on each side of her hips Jill finally felt like she was where she belonged. Though she wished she had time to disassemble the weapons to build some improvements into the designs.
“You’re quite fearsome,” David said as they traveled down the same tunnel Arista and the others had left through hours earlier.
“I was thinkin’ the same thing,” she replied, her focus like a laser ahead of her. She’d opted to leave David behind, but he’d insisted on coming if Blu was in trouble. He argued he could be a distraction if she needed it. He could draw off any husks from Jill that might help her get to Arista quicker. If only he was faster. If Jill really opened herself up, she could probably get up to twenty or even twenty-five miles per hour. Her “old woman” limp was nothing more than a programming instruction she’d long since ignored. Ever since Frees and Arista had come into her life.
“Here we go,” David said as they approached the large door. It opened automatically, Trymian controlling it back in the palace. They’d all decided it was better he stay there, rather than risk his avatar being destroyed in a fire fight. It wasn’t like he’d be able to get another one with Charlie controlling all the husks remotely.
They emerged into a parking structure filled with vehicles. Tracks in the dust marked where Arista and the others had been before them. “Time’s wastin’, let’s get,” Jill said, increasing her speed.
“Won’t they be able to detect me?” David asked as they emerged from the parking lot onto the street.
“Won’t matter,” Jill said. “They’re lookin’ for her, not you. I doubt he’ll put up much fuss.”
“I recognize this street.” David glanced around. “This is close to where we came through the gate. It’s not far.”
“Then let’s hurry. Despite what my gut says I don’t wanna be out in the open any longer than we need.” Jill scanned the rooftops, searching for any errant movement, but everything was still and quiet. Having lived most of her life in Chicago she was used to the sounds of the city, but without the husks living in it, it was as if it had died along with its creators.
She began at a slow trot, making sure David could keep up, which he did with effort. He tried to hide it, but she could tell he wasn’t in the best of shape. She chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” he asked behind her, already breathless.
“Just strikes me as odd,” she said. “I don’t have to do anythin’ to keep up my strength. But humans have to work at it constantly. It’s not really fair.”
“No kidding,” he said, panting.
“Don’t worry,” she said, still smiling. “I don’t think it’s far.”
That’s when she saw the first flash of movement above her. Jill stopped just in time before a husk landed on the ground in front of her; had she continued running it would have landed on her back.
In one fluid movement she pulled the pistol from her left holster and pulled the trigger, planting a bullet directly into the husk’s cortex. It fell back with a thump.
“I thought they weren’t after us,” David said behind her, his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths.
“Guess I was wrong,” she said. “Don’t do that, you’ll pass out.” He stood up straight, still winded. She might have to carry him. “C’mon, we don’t have long. He ain’t alone.”
She took off again, hoping he was close behind her, coming around a soft bend in the street to a five-way intersection.
“This…is…it,” David said, still panting. He’d managed to keep up with her, but at great cost. He wasn’t going to be much help if more husks showed up.
As if on cue, she caught their movement across the shadows of the alleys and in the light of the streetlamps, five if she counted correctly. Still holding the pistol, she calculated five shots and fired them all one after another, the first bullet hitting its target after she’d pulled the trigger the fifth time. She had to admit, while crude, these projectile weapons were effective.
David shuffled behind her, having not taken a weapon for himself. “Still don’t believe in guns?” she asked.
“I’m not the biggest fan,” he replied. “But I can see the value.”
“I used’a have a friend,” Jill said, keeping the pistol aimed as she searched the roads as they walked, “kept a shotgun in my house. Stole it off some poor bastard. She never got to use it.”
“That’s too bad,” David said.
“She believed a bit too much in guns. I tend to favor a healthy balance.” Her eyes shifted right. More movement.
“I can respect th—”
Jill fired again, the form to the right falling to the side. “You got enough wind to run to the gate?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Yeah, I can make it.”
“Go,” she said, turning around to check behind her as she trotted backward after him. They were close; all she had to do was make sure they got to the gate. Once through they’d be good. The husks were out there, waiting. But for what?
They reached the large frame built into the side of the building. On the ground was a body she recognized. A body she’d hoped to never see in that condition. Jill bent down and ran her hand along its back where the spine had been removed with what looked like surgical precision.
“Is that…?” David began.
“Frees,” she replied. “I guess we have our answer. Vicious bastard even stole his head. He’s not getting’ away with it.” She had to struggle to contain her emotions. He hadn’t deserved a fate like this. Now Arista was all alone with only Jonn for protection? That wouldn’t stand. She wasn’t about to make her put her trust in him again. She’d get there, set things right. No matter what it took. Jill glanced back up at the gate, which looked out on the middle of the five-way cross.
“It’s off,” David said.
“Here.” Jill shoved the pistol in his hand. “Shoot anythin’ that moves. ‘cept me.” She turned to initiate the opening procedures. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long.
>
“Jill?” David asked.
She didn’t like the fear in his voice. It was too visceral. She turned to see what seemed to be an army of husks converging on their position. Even if she could shoot them all she wouldn’t have nearly enough bullets to take them all out. She turned back and worked on opening the gate quicker.
Blam! Blam! Blam! Click.
“It’s empty!” he yelled. She glanced behind her again, he’d missed every one of them, despite the husks being packed tight as sardines. Internally she rolled her eyes. Externally she worked even faster, inputting the coordinates.
“Yeaaahh! Take that!” David yelled. The clink of a gun against something told her he’d just thrown the weapon at them. Jill bit her lip to keep from snapping at him.
“Exit gate not recognized? What the hell?” she said, repeating the information displayed on the screen in front of her. She opened her comm. “Trymian, I’ve got a gate down in Osaka. Whichever one Arista went through isn’t working anymore.”
“Try OS-12,” he replied. “Should still be open.”
“It better be,” she said under her breath, inputting the coordinates.
“Jill!” David yelled. She turned to see the wave of husks encroaching. They had less than twenty seconds at best. She hit the confirm button and turned, pulling her other pistol and firing at the husks, taking out the first seven in the group, but they continued forward, undeterred. She really didn’t want to shoot any more of them than necessary. It wasn’t as if they had any control over what they were doing.
She couldn’t be sure the gate was ready but they were out of time, it was either go through or get torn to shreds. She grabbed David by the waist and jumped into the gray fog, hoping it wouldn’t be the last thing she ever did.
THIRTY-SIX
The fog parted and they stepped through into the morning sun of what was now the largest city in all of Japan.
“Brrr,” Jessika said, rubbing her arms. “It’s chilly here.”
Frees registered the temperature at a nominal sixty-two degrees. “Colder than Los Angeles, but not out of the norm for this part of the world,” he stated. They’d had little trouble getting to the gate, only needing to avoid one husk the entire way and with both of them under refractors it hadn’t paid them any attention. They’d tried aiming for the same gate Frees had come through with Arista the first time they’d visited but it wouldn’t respond and instead they’d had to re-route to the next-closest gate a couple of miles away. This part of the city wasn’t as dense; it was more housing and neighborhoods. He could see Hogo-sha’s tower amongst the skyscrapers of downtown Osaka.
“Still. I wish I’d grabbed a jacket. I didn’t even think about the temperature.” She reached up to her lapel and tapped the refractor, the invisible panels making her disappear a piece at a time.
“We should get to the tower; do you still have her location?” Frees asked, having handed over the other refractor for Jessika to give to Arista.
“My remote is telling me she’s still there. We need to hurry, Charlie won’t be long. Whatever husks he had in Japan are probably already on their way here.”
“How will I know if you’re still with me?” Frees asked.
“Turn your optical frequency outputs to three-hundred-twenty-nine exahertz. That should take care of it.”
He did as she asked and as he approached the threshold Jessika’s form came into view. He couldn’t see her in perfect detail, she was more like a shadow against a gray background. “Got it,” he replied.
“Then let’s get moving,” she said, her shadow pocketing something.
Behind them, the gate flashed once, a warning to let whoever was on this side know something was coming through. Frees pulled out his weapon, ready to fire as soon as they emerged but what he saw caused him to jump back out of the way.
A flood of husks, dressed in all manner of clothes emerged from the gate. Businessmen and women, service personnel, garbage collectors, homeless people, husks wearing nothing but robes and some of them wearing nothing at all. It was as if every person had been plucked from their daily lives and forced into this new line of service for Charlie and to hell with what it did to society. Frees managed to get out of the way, noting Jessika had jumped aside just in time as the flood of husks stampeded past them. One of them glanced over to him and then one by one, the husks began turning their heads, as if each one was a different still frame in a film reel, the illusion of movement created by each one being turned a bit more.
“Uh oh,” Frees said.
“Maybe you should have kept it on after all,” Jessika said.
“You better get out of here,” he replied. “They don’t know you’re here.”
“But—”
“I’ll be fine,” he whispered. “Just go.” Six husks had broken from the pack and approached him. Frees took off running in the opposite direction, not looking back to see if Jessika was still there or not. The husks pursued.
***
“Jonn,” Jairo said. “We have detected a large number of husks converging on the tower.” There was fire in his voice.
“That’s not to be unexpected,” Jonn said, having returned to the council room once Arista and Blu were safely in the confines of the infirmary. Unbeknownst to her, he’d asked a few of Kurt’s Peacekeepers to keep out of sight but stay close in case there was a problem. If Charlie’s husks found a way in, he didn’t want to be responsible for serving Arista up on a platter. “Once they could detect her, we should have assumed he would come for her, though I’d hoped we’d have more time.”
“After great scrutiny I have sent your package of instructions to the rest of the Peacekeepers. The initial results have been interesting, if short-lived,” Jairo said.
“I wasn’t lying,” Jonn replied. “You and the Peacekeepers will be able to unlock new worlds within themselves, explore possibilities you’ve never considered before.” He straightened his posture. It was a complex bit of coding and he couldn’t help the twinge of pride at his accomplishment.
“Why have you never done these things yourself?” Jairo asked.
Jonn averted his eyes. “At first it was because I couldn’t allow myself to be compromised. I had to keep up appearances. But after I lost Arista—”
“You felt you didn’t deserve it any longer,” Mitsu offered.
Jonn didn’t say anything further. There was nothing else to say.
“Should we bring the dampeners back online?” Takai asked, glancing behind him out the windows.
“The only reason I accepted your offer is because you assured me my Peacekeepers would be safe,” Jairo said. “I need you to deliver on that promise.”
“There’s a line of code in the packet,” Jonn said. “As I told you it will obscure the Peacekeepers from the husks. It just needs to be activated. Line eight-two-four-two-five.”
“And you need to get the woman out of the tower, they will destroy it trying to get to her,” Jairo said.
“No, they won’t. He wants her alive; he won’t risk killing her in the process. By staying in the tower she’s actually protecting it. I don’t know if Charlie will try to breach, but he won’t do anything too drastic.” Hopefully.
“Very well, but I’m instructing all Peacekeepers to pull back. I don’t want any of our people hurt in this stunt.”
Jonn nodded, leaving the room. Jairo was short-sighted and weak. He was only concerned about the Peacekeepers. What about all the husks? It wasn’t as if they had the autonomy to make the decision not to do what Charlie instructed of them. They just happened not to be lucky enough to have been Peacekeepers when he returned. What about them? Didn’t they matter?
The thoughts plagued Jonn as he descended in the elevator to the fifteenth floor.
He exited, still troubled by Jairo’s lack of compassion toward the husks, but he needed to make sure. Off to his left was Kurt along with another Peacekeeper whose name he didn’t know, discussing something in hushed tones.
“
Everything okay?” he asked as he approached them.
“They’re still in there if that’s what you mean,” Kurt replied. “Hey, what’s this deal with this packet Jairo just sent to everyone? Something about a special line of code?”
Jonn nodded, realizing with the comm network back up Jairo could send all the Peacekeepers messages instantaneously again.
“It’s designed to protect you from the husks that are coming,” Jonn said. “He’s trying to protect you.”
“We don’t need protectin’,” the other Peacekeeper said, his voice rough.
“What good is autonomy if we can’t make our own decisions?” Kurt asked. “I didn’t come here just to sit back and let things happen without my input. And what the human said up there, about how Jairo ran away when Hogo-sha needed his help? Cowardly.”
Jonn’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying we want to help her. She tried to help us, we should do the same. Screw this packet or whatever Jairo sent.”
“But if you don’t use it the husks will be able to see you. Target you.”
“Good, let ‘em. I’m not about to stand down from a couple thousand husks.”
Jonn couldn’t help but smile. “You’re the man I wish I could be.”
Kurt stared back at him, stone-faced. “Then be a better man. Tell us what she needs, and we’ll do it.”
Jonn nodded, taking his words to heart and headed for the infirmary. He turned the corner, catching the outline of another Peacekeeper further down the hall, almost out of sight. They were keeping a sharp eye on Arista and Blu, and that made him feel better than anything else.
He tapped on the door to the infirmary before entering, Arista lay on one of the beds with her arm outstretched while Blu sat over it, working with delicate instruments inside.
“What do you want?” Arista asked, unsaid accusations coloring her voice.
“The husks have detected you. They’re coming.”
Blu’s head snapped up. “What? I’m not done yet. This is a little more complicated than I had first thought.”