by Eric Warren
“It’s my fault,” Jonn said. “I knew he’d be able to find you once the dampener was down but I thought you’d have enough time.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Arista said. “We just need one of them. If we can trap him in one the rest will stop. It won’t take long.”
“But we need more time,” Blu added, returning to her work. “At least another fifteen minutes. I don’t even know if we’ll be able to test it before she has to use it.”
“I can buy you that much time,” Jonn replied.
Arista turned to him, lifting her head slightly. “What are you going to do?”
“What I should have done the first time. I’m going to fight for you. And I’m going to bring you a husk back. In fifteen minutes.” He turned to leave.
“Jonn,” she said, causing him to linger. “You don’t—”
“Yes, I do,” he replied without looking back. “I owe you that much.” He strode out of the infirmary, signaling to Kurt and the others as soon as they were in view. It was time to engage the husks.
***
As they came through the sound of what Jill could only assume was an airline jet assaulted their ears. David cleared the fog and his hands went to his ears as he crouched, the din causing him pain. Jill turned down her audio receptors and went over to the gate, shutting it down to prevent any of the husks from following them through. She was also aware of a rumble in the ground coming from somewhere. “Earthquake!” she yelled but that didn’t seem right. The rumble was too even; too steady, as if someone had set the dial to four-point-two on the Richter scale and left it there.
“What is that?” David yelled.
“I don’t—” know she was about to say until she’d turned to see they’d come out in the middle of a train depot with gates all around. Each was active and thousands of husks were coming from each, streaming from them like water from a hose. They paid Jill and David no attention whatsoever and all headed in the same direction. Ahead of them outside the station the streets were packed from one side to the other with husks.
“Jesus,” David said, his hands still on his ears as the husks continued out of the gates.
“We need to get outta here,” Jill said, holstering her gun and grabbing David again. She shot up on both legs, turning as she did so her back collided with the massive glass window above the main entrance to the station. Glass rained down on the husks pouring through the doors. They didn’t even seem to notice. They fell backward and Jill maneuvered the sniper rifle on her back, then shifted as they landed on her back on the roof of a low building adjacent to the station.
“How did you do that?” David asked, having finally removed his hands from his ears. The noise wasn’t as bad up here. She turned her receptors back to normal.
“Learned it from a friend,” she said, helping him off her and standing up, performing a quick systems check. Everything seemed fine. She repositioned the rifle as she made her way to the roof’s edge, staring down. “You think they know she’s here?” she asked sarcastically.
“How are we going to reach her?” David asked.
Jill stared at the higher buildings as they stretched to Osaka’s downtown, with Hogo-sha’s tower sitting near the center of the buildings. “I guess we have to keep jumping.” She smirked.
THIRTY-SEVEN
“How long has he been gone?” Blu asked, her face centimeters from Arista’s arm as she worked.
“I dunno, maybe ten minutes?” Arista hadn’t always been the best at estimating things.
“If the husks were surrounding the building, shouldn’t he be back with one already?” She placed one of the small needle-like tools inside Arista’s arm and twisted. A synapse fired in Arista’s brain, telling her it hurt. “Ow. Yes, he should be back by now. Unless it didn’t go to plan.”
“Sorry,” Blu said, readjusting something and trying again. Sweat had formed all over her forehead which was easily visible due to her hair back in a ponytail. Arista had only seen it down once; she could only assume Blu liked it out of the way so she could work easier, whether that be on computers or Arista’s arm. “I’m close. Just a couple more adjustments.”
“And you’re sure this will work?”
Blu paused longer than Arista would have liked. “Sure. It will work. Ninety percent chance. Maybe eighty. I don’t know, I’ve never dealt with this kind of tech before! This isn’t even my field of expertise. I mean, if this thing was a regular program I would have had it disassembled and put back together three times over by now.” She wiped her brow with her sleeve. “And it’s not like everything depends on this right? Like, what if it doesn’t work and we don’t get Charlie and everything falls apart? Whose fault will that be? It’ll be Blu’s fault because Blu was the one who didn’t program the—”
“Blu,” Arista interrupted. “Calm down. You’ve got this.”
She closed her mouth but continued to work, making more adjustments. “Why does this have to be so complex?” she muttered under her breath. “It’s what I get I suppose. Let the monster out of the box, deal with the—”
“Blu!”
“Sorry! I’m nervous!”
“I know, it’s okay. If it doesn’t work it isn’t your fault. You’re doing the best you can, I know that.” Arista tried to catch her sister’s eye, but only succeeded in watching her work even more furiously.
“If you say so,” Blu said, sitting back, still staring at the arm. “I think it’s done.”
Arista flexed her fingers, watching the internal components of the arm move in response. “I don’t feel any different.”
“Hang on.” Blu leaned over the arm again and closed all the open ports, locking them with her instruments. “Now? Any different?”
“Not really.” Arista lifted her arm off the small table and moving it. She wasn’t hampered in any way, the arm moved perfectly fine. She flexed all her fingers finding no issues. “Should I try it?”
Blu stood and took a few steps back, nodding.
Arista touched her thumb and pinkie finger together and the arm hummed with power. “It’s on,” she said, checking around the room.
“Here,” Blu replied, running over to one of the monitors. “Try this, it’s connected to the building’s security feeds.”
Arista walked over but before she touched the machine she caught a glimpse of what was happening outside. The camera was a wide shot of the large courtyard in front of the south entrance to the building. The side with the block-length stairs and the wide, open space between the street and the front of the building. Husks were lined up in a formation, encircling the building. Packs of twelve were approaching the building until they were fended off by what looked to be some of the Peacekeepers fighting back.
“I don’t get it,” Blu said. “Why not just rush them and break through? He’s got the numbers.”
“He doesn’t want to risk losing me,” Arista said. “For whatever reason he wants me alive and unharmed. That’s our greatest advantage.” She scanned the image again. She couldn’t see Jonn anywhere. “He ran again, that coward.” She turned back to Blu. “What did I tell you? Actions over words, every time.”
Blu’s forehead creased. “I guess you’re right. That sucks.”
“Sure does. The Peacekeepers probably don’t know we need one alive. They’re just tearing them up and throwing them back. We’ll have to go out there.”
“Why not go up to the council? Tell them—”
“Not enough time. Look how many husks are dying out there. If Frees was here he’d be having a fit. We need to stop this before it gets worse.” She turned and ran from the room, headed for the elevators.
“Hey!” Blu yelled behind her. “Wait, what about the test? What if it doesn’t work?”
Arista barely heard her, all she could think about was the machines out there killing each other. She was going to put a stop to it one way or another.
“What about the test?” Blu said again, running up beside her, slightly out of breath.
“This is the test,” she said. “If it doesn’t work, do you know what to change? What you’d do differently?”
Blu averted her eyes. “Well, no. I assumed we’d do a trial and error kind of thing.”
“Maybe if we had more time, but we need to stop this before it turns into an all-out war.”
Blu put her hand on Arista’s human arm, causing Arista to look down at it as the elevator doors opened before them. “I know you’re trying to do right by him, but don’t let it blind you. You accused me of being too much of a romantic, I need you to not be too vengeful.”
“This isn’t vengeance,” Arista snapped. “This is keeping my promise to a friend. Frees trusted me to save as many machine lives as possible, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Blu turned her head to the ceiling and grunted in frustration as Arista climbed in the elevator. She began to follow when Arista put out her hand. “No, I need you to stay here. I can’t protect you out there. You’ll be safer up here.”
“I’m not your dog,” Blu said defiantly.
“No, but you are my sister and I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she replied, surprised at how emotional the words were coming out of her mouth.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you either,” Blu replied, her eyes shimmering.
“Just stay here, I’ll be back in a few minutes with a husk we can use.”
“That’s what Jonn said.”
Arista found she couldn’t look her in the eye as the doors to the elevator closed, separating them. She took three deep breaths, trying to focus her mind. She needed to be sharp. She’d just go out there and join the fray, explaining to the Peacekeepers she just needed one husk, but it would have to be quick. If they weren’t overwhelmed it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Then again, the husks could go mad as soon as they got a look at her. As long as they didn’t shoot her with something.
And as long as it worked.
Arista shook out her human hand, rubbing the sweat on her jeans. Her heart was smashing against her ribcage over and over but she couldn’t help it. It all came down to this; to her performance. All she had to do was not screw up.
The elevator reached the lobby and she strode out into the massive space, at least four stories tall with glass stretching high above her. The floor and walls that weren’t glass were a dark marble, giving the place a very monochrome vibe. Appropriate for what she was about to face. The Peacekeepers were still fighting off the husks, throwing bodies left and right as they continued their assault.
Steeling herself, she pushed through the front door.
Noise exploded all around her, the air tinged with the smell of metal and chemicals. The building must have been somewhat soundproof because the sounds of the machines smashing up against each other was like a series of close thunderclaps, reverberating through the air. It took her a moment to acclimate to them. The Peacekeepers were stationed around the front of the building in something of a loose semicircle, each protecting part of the entrance. Had this been what Jonn had meant when he’d said he’d buy her the time? Was this his doing?
She spotted Kurt to her right and jogged over toward him, though looking past him she noticed a surge in the husks holding back as soon as they saw her face.
“Kurt!” she yelled. “Leave one alive, I just need one, for a second!”
“What?” he called back. “We’re not giving these bastards an inch; you can have one when we’re done with them.”
“No, you don’t understand.” Arista glanced to her left to see a large surge of husks moving toward them. Her artificial hand turned into a fist.
“These things took Jonn, I’m not letting them off the hook that easy,” Kurt yelled.
She stepped back. They took Jonn? “What do you mean?” she asked.
One of the husks slammed into Kurt and just as she reached for it, Kurt grabbed it by the head and chucked the body back into the pool of bodies in the distance. “I mean they came up here and grabbed him, there was nothing we could do,” he said. “The rest of these fuckers have just been testing us, they haven’t tried anything rough yet.”
“MOVING FORWARD!” the entire crowd screamed in Charlie’s voice at once and took three steps toward the entrance. Arista and the Peacekeepers took a step back.
“Get back inside,” Kurt yelled, “We’ll keep them off you.”
“No, you don’t understand,” she said again. “I can stop them. I just need to touch one.” She held out her hand now vibrating with electricity. One of the husks broke from the formation, making a bee-line for her. “Stand back, I’ve got this.”
It picked up speed, charging for her and Arista stood her ground, though she was unsure how much it would hurt to be hit by a husk running at full speed.
The husk looked as though it might be ready to slow its approach as soon as it came within ten feet of the Peacekeeper line, only Arista caught the sound of a mini sonic boom and the husk fell to the ground, its cortex smoking. She stared at it a moment before realizing it had been shot. She glanced up, trying to place the angle of the shot, but without the Device it was impossible. Her human mind couldn’t recall and make that kind of calculation.
Fortunately, she didn’t need to. As if acting as one unit, all the husks turned at once to look behind them at the balcony of one of the buildings on the other side of the street.
And there, standing with a rifle in her hands and a big grin on her face, was Jill.
THIRTY-EIGHT
“Jill,” Arista whispered. What was she doing here?
Another husk charged at Arista and Jill took aim, taking it down as easily as the first. She whooped and yelled something to Arista, though she was too far away to make out the words. But the damage had been done; a large contingent of husks turned for the building where Jill sat on her perch. Climbing on top of each other in a wide pyramid fashion, they began making their way to her. She managed one more shot to a third husk approaching Arista before slinging her rifle on her back and launching herself from the twenty-floor balcony she’d set herself up on.
“Holy—” Arista said, watching Jill soar through the air in a high arc toward the courtyard where she stood. She had more height than Frees had ever managed doing the same thing. More height and distance, by far. It was like the woman had jets on the underside of her feet. She reached the perigee and came sailing down, her arms stretched out wide as she watched where she fell and landed on the ground, cracking the concrete into six distinct pieces as she hit it and knocking Arista back with the force of the impact. The other Peacekeepers stood, dumbfounded at what they’d just witnessed.
“—shit!” Arista yelled, shielding herself from the dust Jill had kicked up. Before Arista knew what had happened Jill had pulled a revolver from somewhere and was clipping husks in the head one by one, as if it was nothing.
“What’re you doin’ out here all by yourself, child?” she yelled. “You’re gonna get yourself killed!” The husks continued to encroach, undeterred by her ammunition.
“I need one of them!” Arista yelled back. “To stop him!”
Jill’s face contorted into confusion and Arista saw the husks approaching hesitate. Had they heard her? Jill continued to fire at them, the pistol running out of ammunition. She pulled the rifle back over her shoulder and in less time than it would have taken Arista to aim she’d taken two more down.
“You need one alive?” Jill asked.
She didn’t want to say anything else for fear of Charlie figuring out what she was about to do. But she couldn’t grab a husk if Jill kept shooting them all. To her right Kurt continued to fight them off. “Stay there,” Arista said, “I’ll be right back.” She scrambled up and made for Kurt, intending on grabbing one of the husks attacking him. Though they seemed to be doing so with less fervor than before. In fact, the entire line had come to a halt.
Arista heard the click of a weapon and as she turned saw the shot. It wasn’t a projectile weapon, instead was the absence of sound from a weap
on she’d seen used before. Sy had wielded and used the same kind of weapon to destroy Hogo-sha. It was the one that disintegrated machines on contact, the necrotizer.
Arista saw Jill drop the rifle, then stumble and fall back, shock painting her face, then landing on the concrete with a thud. Arista didn’t even feel herself turning, but she was by her side in an instant. She watched as the shockwave of the impact moved through Jill turning her skin into an ashen gray.
“Jill,” she said, trying to figure some way of stopping the energy from moving through her friend.
“You’re a good person, don’t let anyone tell you different,” she said before her eyes followed the rest of her, turning her into a monochrome version of herself. It had taken only seconds; there hadn’t even been time to say goodbye.
Arista’s head whipped around, and she bore her teeth at the source of the shot: a husk holding the necrotizer so the barrel pointed to the sky. “I’ll kill you,” she said under her breath.
“Not unless you want more casualties on your conscience,” the husk said in Charlie’s voice. Glancing around Arista realized all the husks had stopped fighting. Instead, they had formed a protective barrier around them, lining up so they blocked the entrance to the building. There was no way to escape. The Peacekeepers—what remained of them—pulled back closer to Arista, standing over what was left of Jill’s decaying body.
“You didn’t have to do that!” she yelled. “You have millions of bodies; what threat was she to you?”
“She made this a contest of weapons. I didn’t use them until she brought them into the battle,” the husk said. “I will have balance in all things, even my wars.” The mass of husks shifted slightly and two husks brought a familiar figure forward, shoving him to his knees.
“Jonn,” Arista whispered. He had gone to fight after all. “You’re insane.”
“I am through playing games,” the Charlie-husk said. “This world is mine and I will do with it as I please. That means eliminating all insurgents, human and machine alike.”