The Last of the Firsts

by G J Ogden

  Page rubbed his face. “I guess that sort of thing can lead to a person holding one hell of a grudge.”

  “You have no idea,” said Maria, her words suddenly laced with a bitterness.

  “After what they did, it must have been hard to work with Diana and GPS.”

  Maria shook her head and turned to face him. “No, it wasn’t.” She waved her hand indifferently at the ruined apartment blocks. “All of this, and everything we did and worse to them in return; it was all so stupid and pointless. I hate that I was so angry for so long, and I hate that I didn’t see what Kurren was planning, before it was too late.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, Sal,” said Page.

  Maria looked back into the remains of her old apartment block and rubbed the back of her neck. Her head was throbbing and her muscles felt stiff. “I know that, Karl. But I think we all have a little blood on our hands. Some just have more than others.”

  Page sighed. “I hear you.” Then he took a few careful steps into the apartment and knelt down, sifting through the rubble. “Why didn’t they clear this place up?”

  “Because the third breach wasn’t from a weapon, but a ship,” said Maria. “The UEC line was that it was deliberate, like a dirty bomb. I used to believe that, but I don’t know any more; Archer was a skilled manipulator.”

  Page remembered the report from his academy days, and with his readjusted view of the UEC, it did seem more propaganda than military history. “Fuel contamination and a reactor breach, right? This whole place was flooded with radiation.”

  Maria nodded. “It’s why we’ve spent too long here already.”

  Page stood up and dusted the charred, black ash off his hands. Then he spotted something glinting softly among the debris he had disturbed. He bent down, picked it up and blew the dust off it. It was a piece of jewelry; a chunky, but ornate silver-colored bracelet with the letter ‘S’ engraved into its pointed clasp. Considering how long it must have been lying in the rubble, Page was surprised at how vibrant it still looked.

  Maria saw the item in Page’s hand and her heart leapt. She rushed over and grabbed his hand, drawing the bracelet closer.

  “Do you recognize it?” asked Page.

  “Yes!” said Maria. Her heart was racing and she could barely breath. “It was my mother’s.”

  Page gently undid the robust clasp and then placed the bracelet on Maria’s wrist, closing it with a click. “Here, it will bring us luck.”

  Maria squeezed a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand and laughed. “I didn’t know you were superstitious.”

  “I’ll take whatever we can get,” Page beamed back. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  They headed for the stairwell, but then Page’s PVSM bleeped an alert, following a second later by Maria’s PVSM. Both of them looked at each other, frowning.

  “We’re both in passive mode, with no idents. No-one could contact us directly,” said Page.

  Maria nodded, and then thought. “It could be a base-wide emergency holo. We’d still pick that up, since it’s broadcast on all bands.”

  Page cocked his head to the side and folded his arms. “Do you want to do the honors?”

  “I guess so…” Maria reached over and activated the holo emitter to display the message. The bracelet sparkled briefly in the holo light, before she lowered her arm and the image of Jacob Kuba appeared in front of them. Maria gritted her teeth and clenched her fists; it had not been long enough since she’d last seen his deceitful face.

  As First Minister to Governor Archer, Jacob Kuba was an effective politician, but he was also weaselly and insincere and, as it turned out, willing to stab Archer in the back to elevate his status. Kurren may have slid the shard into Archer’s neck, but Kuba was just as guilty of his murder, and the death of everyone on the GPS space station, bar the few hundred that Maria had managed to save and take planetside.

  “Kuba, it would be him!” spat Maria, as Kuba adjusted his collar. “I bet he couldn’t have been happier to find out Kurren was dead so he could gain even more power.”

  Page hadn’t thought of it like this, but now that Maria mentioned it, the fact that Major Darien wasn’t making the announcement did seem odd, but there wasn’t time to voice this concern before Kuba started to speak.

  “Citizens of the UEC, today we received news that the base was attacked and infiltrated by terrorist elements from the traitors who sided with GPS and Diana Neviah. These rogue operatives broke into the base, showing no regard for the safety of those on board, and proceeded to kill innocent civilians and escape.” Kuba paused, and the holo camera zoomed-in slowly on his dumpling-like face. “We believe one of these traitors to be a former UEC officer, named Major Karl Page.” The holo switched to show an image of Page. It wasn’t a good photo, but they had darkened his eyes to make him look more sinister. Page tutted and folded his arms. “He is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous, and must be reported on sight, along with any accomplices. Failure to do so, or to harbor these criminals, shall be considered treason, punishable in the strictest manner possible.” The Holo switched back to Kuba’s face, and Maria cringed as she saw him wearing the simpering half-smile that he’d copied badly from Governor Archer. “Citizens of the UEC, we must remain strong whilst we root out these last remnants of the GPS threat. Once these traitors are eliminated, we can once again live in peace and without fear. I ask for your support in these testing times so that we can move forward to a bright future. Governor Kuba, out.”

  “So, he’s already dropped the ‘acting’ part and assumed the full title of Governor,” scoffed Maria. “I bet it took him no more than a few minutes to claim the throne.”

  Page was deep in thought, and appeared not to have heard Maria.

  “Karl, are you still with me?”

  He looked up at her and stroked his chin. “He didn’t mention you. The security cameras on the deck would have picked you up, but Kuba chose not to mention you. Why?”

  Maria shrugged, she was still too enraged at Kuba’s speech to be thinking clearly. “Maybe they missed me, who knows?”

  Page shook his head. “I think they’re worried that your return could spark a wave of support. I think they’re afraid of you, and that’s why Kuba didn’t want to make it public.”

  “Maybe...” said Maria. “If that’s true, and there are people who are willing to help us then our odds just improved.”

  “If we can somehow get to Kuba, and bring him down, I think the sham government could all fall apart,” said Page. “Major Darien was loyal to Kurren, but if he’s letting Kuba call the shots then he’s already weakened.”

  “So, we gather some support, just a little, and take Kuba down,” agreed Maria. “We don’t need a full scale rebellion to end this.”

  “Any ideas where we can find some support?”

  Maria stepped closer to the partially-destroyed wall that overlooked the main street below, broken glass crunching under her boots, and peered out. “There is someone who might help us. And from here, I know exactly how to find her.”

  Chapter 5

  Ethan reached the stairs leading up to the council chamber, just as one of the automatons that Tyler had deployed whirred into the gaping hole where the gate had once stood, and began to work on the broken hinges and smashed walls. Ethan watched as it deployed an array of smaller drones and mechanical arms, which worked so fast that they were almost a blur. The other CAEAs were working with equal speed on other areas of the wall, and one of them was adding curious-looking metal platforms to each of the corners.

  “Everything okay, Ethan?” He turned back to see Zoie on the top step, with Yuna behind her on the deck in front of the door to the council chamber.

  Ethan climbed the stairs and stepped beside Yuna. “She just needs time. I think we both do.”

  Yuna and Zoie knew not to press Ethan further, and changed the subject. “We’ve checked the huts and outhouses on this side of the settlement,” said Yuna. “There�
�s nothing else here, Ethan, this place is dea...” Yuna hesitated, realizing her slip. “I mean deserted.”

  Ethan squeezed her shoulder in a simple act of reassurance. “It’s okay, you don’t need to tread on eggshells around me. You were right the first time; this place is dead.”

  “Yuna, any idea how long it will take to repair the damage?” asked Zoie, nodding over to the automaton that was repairing the gate.

  Yuna quickly looked around the settlement, checking the progress of each of the devices in turn. “A few hours, for the basic repairs and reinforcements to the external wall. The gate will be back up soonest, as per the plan; probably in ten or fifteen minutes.”

  Ethan rubbed his face; he felt weary, though he wasn’t tired. It would have taken a team of rangers and settlers hours to complete even basic repairs to the gate, but with Tyler’s advanced tools, he would probably have the entire settlement fixed up and turned into a veritable fortress in the same amount of time.

  “Let’s go into the council chamber and figure out our next move,” said Ethan. “Talia always kept a supply of honey wine inside, and I don’t know about you two, but I could certainly do with a drink.”

  He led them inside the large wooden structure, which on an average day would have been bustling with activity, as people went about the regular business of the settlement – planning resource-gathering, farming, trade, defense, scouting and dealing with the communications from other settlements. After seeing the vast, domed cities on the UEC moon base, and even the underground city in the cave complex where he had discovered Yuna, Zoie, Tyler and the other engineers and scientists, the council chamber was trivially small in comparison, but devoid of its usual throng of occupants, it seemed cavernous and intimidating.

  “She keeps the honey wine in her chambers, just along here,” said Ethan, directing them to a room just behind the main central meeting space. “Talia always managed to get the good stuff…” He stopped suddenly and held up a hand to the others. He stayed still and listened intently.

  “What’s the matter?” whispered Zoie.

  “I thought I saw something,” replied Ethan in a hushed voice, keeping his eyes fixed on Talia’s chambers. “It could have been an animal, perhaps, I didn’t get a good look.”

  Zoie and Yuna raised their bolt-throwers and turned back to back, peering into the dark corners of the chambers.

  “I hope this isn’t your idea of a joke, Ethan,” said Yuna, feeling her heart thump in her chest.

  Ethan didn’t answer and stepped cautiously towards the open door to the room where he thought he saw movement, holding his bolt-thrower ready. The floorboards creaked underfoot and the wind whistled softly through the gaps in the aging wooden structure, which was almost as old as Forest Gate itself. He waited and listened, but only the wind answered. He lowered the bolt-thrower and turned back to Zoie and Yuna.

  “It’s okay, it must just be my imagination,” said Ethan. “I can’t get used to seeing this place so empty. I guess I’m seeing shadows and ghosts everywhere.”

  “Ethan!” cried Yuna.

  He spun around and raised the bolt-thrower, but the thing was already hurtling towards him from the shadows, its elongated gray fingers outstretched. He fired, and heard the bolt thud into Talia’s desk as the creature collided with him and sent him crashing backward into a shelf, loaded with parchments. He heard the pneumatic thud of Yuna’s and Zoie’s weapons firing and a gargled growl. He shook his head, trying to clear his senses, and stood up, grabbing the bolt-thrower, which he’d dropped during the collision. The attacker lay, face down, on the wooden floor, black-red blood seeping out from around its chest. Ethan heard the floorboards creak again, but it wasn’t him, and glancing over at Yuna and Zoie, he could see that they had not moved either.

  “We need to get out of here, right now!” said Ethan with a composed urgency.

  They all began to slowly step backwards, sweeping their weapons from side-to-side, trying to listen for the sounds, but their own footsteps on the old wooden boards masked any other subtler noises. The sound of something smashing – a plate or jug perhaps – came from the corridor leading to the rear of the council chamber, then there was the distinct sound of something scraping against wood, as if a heavy object were being dragged toward them. There was another crash, this time from within one of the smaller chambers at the other side of the hall, and Ethan saw fragments of what looked like pottery slide out of the darkness and dance across the smooth wooden floorboards.

  Zoie fired blindly into the space where the noise had emanated from, but the metal spikes simply thudded into solid wood. Ethan was about to call out to Zoie to save her bolts, when a body sprang out of the shadows and charged along the far wall towards Yuna. At the same time another ran at Zoie from the corridor on the opposite side. Ethan fired and missed, but then his attention was drawn back to the dark spaces at the rear of the chamber, where there appeared a third. Ethan prepared himself for its charge, but instead the creature rose up, standing tall, and peered at Ethan through its inky, black eyes. Ethan fired, but the maddened creature crept towards him, keeping the numerous cabinets and tall shelves between it and Ethan, as if it were intentionally using them as cover. Ethan couldn’t believe it; he had never seen or heard of one of the maddened behaving in that way. A roamer, yes, since there still remained some element of their humanity and conscious reasoning, even if everything about the person had already been eroded from their brains; but never from one this far gone. The sight of it now made his skin crawl.

  The high-pressure hiss of bolt-throwers pierced the air to his rear as Yuna and Zoie fired at their own attackers, and the noise shook Ethan from his momentary paralysis. Yuna’s bolt struck true, tearing through the mottled, gray flesh, but Zoie’s shots were sporadic and panicked, and wildly off target. Ethan was quick to the danger and tackled Zoie to the floor moments before her attacker hurtled past like a charging bull and slammed into the wall, cracking the thick timber beams as if they were nothing more than rotten twigs. Yuna tried to take a shot but Ethan and Zoie were blocking her view, and to fire would risk hitting one of them. Ethan pushed himself up just in time to block a hammer-like strike using the bolt-thrower as a shield, but the creature just tore the weapon from Ethan’s hands and tossed it to the side. Ethan dodged back, narrowly missing another frenzied strike and then kicked it in the chest; sending it reeling to the wall once more. His entire leg throbbed with pain; it had felt like kicking a stone wall. Yuna circled around and fired three times, pinning the creature to the wall like some kind of grotesque ornament, but still it wailed at them, shaking its head and struggling to pull itself away.

  “Where’s the third one!?” shouted Ethan, spinning around, but the monster was nowhere to be seen. Zoie still lay dazed on the floor after Ethan’s earlier tackle, and he darted for her bolt-thrower.

  “I don’t see it!” called Yuna.

  “Watch the shadows!” Ethan shouted as he staggered beside Yuna, unable to put his full weight onto his leg.

  The next few seconds felt like years as both jerked from side to side, seeing shapes and flickering shadows in every corner, and then Ethan found the black eyes again, staring at him from behind the commemorative sculpture. This was a simple column built up from the coarsely-hewn pieces of rock that were among the first stones to be laid at Forest Gate, decades earlier. It was a symbol of hope and renewal that represented the struggle and achievement of the settlers who had first re-built after the Fall. Yuna saw it too and fired, but her target anticipated the attack and ducked away.

  “Split up, you take the far side!” Ethan called out, but Yuna had not checked her footing and she slipped on the thick, red-black blood on the floor. She stumbled on, trying desperately to keep her balance, but the blood on the soles of her boots was like oil, and she fell forward, the bolt-thrower slipping from her grasp as she attempted to cushion her fall.

  Yet, the creature did not leap from its hiding place to strike at Yuna, as Ethan had expec
ted it to do. Instead, it moved to keep the stone obelisk between itself and Ethan and, as they circled in unison, a streak of light breaking through the window slats illuminated its face and Ethan again froze, this time not in terror, but in astonishment. The face was unmistakably that of one of the maddened; its cheeks bowed inward, pressing on the jaw and revealing the outline of blackened, decaying teeth, while what was left of its hair lay thickly on an elongated skull, like rough cotton fibers. Its eyes, black and soulless, were the same eyes he remembered from the creature he had faced on the GPS space station, the first time he had ever been as close to one of those things as he was at that moment. But it was not the creature’s face that made him freeze. Though most of its body was covered in dirtied and tattered clothing, there was a thicker, inflexible covering across its shoulder and partly across its chest. Although it was cracked and dented and scraped, it had a recognizable blue sheen, and an unmistakable arrangement of three scuffed, but still legible letters - U. E. C.

  “Kurren?” Ethan said out loud, as if speaking the name would somehow help this all make sense. It did not respond to the name, but continued to glare at Ethan. If it recognized him, there was no way to know since its dead eyes gave nothing away.

  “Ethan, shoot it!” cried Yuna, scrambling to retrieve her bolt-thrower. “What are you waiting for!?”

  The cry from Yuna again roused Ethan, and he raised the weapon and fired, sending bolts thudding into the rock, shattering some of the blocks and showering the creature with dust. Yuna stretched out and pulled her bolt-thrower towards her with the tips of her fingers, then aimed and fired. The first two bolts flew wide, but the third struck its shoulder and embedded into what remained of the UEC combat armor. The creature roared, and leapt towards Yuna, but Ethan fired again, hitting the remnants of the chest armor, which deflected the bolt harmlessly away. It glared at Ethan, then Yuna, and then spun around and sprang towards the slatted window, bursting though it to the outside with such speed that neither Ethan nor Yuna could get another shot at it.