Extensis Vitae: The Shattered Land

by Gregory Mattix

  He caught the mutant by a massive wrist and managed to halt its strike. Its other claw tore into his stomach and would have disemboweled him, were it not for his dermal plating hardening and deflecting the blow. He groped around for the dropped shotgun momentarily until his fingers closed around the grip.

  Blam! A point-blank shot to the ribs sent the monster tumbling off him. Reznik sat up then racked and fired two more rounds into the creature’s chest. It fell down in a bloody heap. He was just regaining his feet when he was blindsided by a tremendous blow, which launched him across the cavern. He briefly saw stars as he slammed hard into the stone wall. He regained his senses after a moment, only to find nothing there. Worse yet, he had dropped the shotgun again and couldn’t see it anywhere.

  ***

  The First was pleased to watch both of his foes go down. The woman was crawling toward her sword, and the man was trying to clear his head after getting slammed against the wall. He decided he would kill the man and possibly use the woman as further breeding stock.

  His two brothers were wounded, but not fatally. This victory would be theirs.

  He waited until the woman was within a foot of recovering her sword and then kicked it across the cavern. The surprised look on her face was priceless, and he couldn’t keep himself from laughing.

  ***

  Rin was about to grasp her katana when it was suddenly propelled across the cavern by some invisible force. What the hell is this?

  A rumbling sound, like boulders grinding together, filled the cavern. It took her a moment to realize it was laughter. She could sense something beside her. Pretending she was injured, she began to slowly crawl after the katana. She could sense the presence pacing alongside, toying with her. Releasing her nanocarbon forearm blade, she slashed at where she thought the creature was and rolled away in the opposite direction. A line of green blood appeared in the air and dribbled down an invisible leg, accompanied by a grunt of pain. The cloaking device. The townspeople spoke of this.

  Rin performed a kip-up and regained her feet. A quick glance around revealed a dazed-looking Reznik slumped against the far wall. The mutant she had wounded was circling toward her. The one Reznik had been fighting was picking itself up off the ground. Rin sprinted for her katana.

  She could hear the breathing and heavy footsteps of pursuit. She dove for the sword, snatching it by the hilt and somersaulting back to her feet. A rush of air passed by her face as her invisible assailant slashed and narrowly missed her. She responded with a slash of her own. There was a clang as the invisible mutant parried her strike, and then she sensed it withdraw. I need to switch to infrared.

  Rin switched her optical augmentations to the infrared spectrum, causing her vision to flicker briefly as her augs adjusted. Immediately, she saw a large, bright orange blob of heat in front of her. Another heat signature was moving toward her a short distance away. The cool cavern was a pale blue color around her.

  “Reznik! Switch to infrared,” she called out. This would still be a challenge, but the monster no longer had the advantage it thought it had.

  ***

  Reznik unslung the AK-47 just as Rin was calling out, and he prepared to put some bullets downrange. I have infrared? Before he could mess around with his HUD, he put the stock of the AK to his shoulder and unloaded at the mutant he had wounded. Several 7.62mm rounds shattered one of the mutant’s kneecaps as it was attempting to rise. It cried out and managed to lurch behind one of the pens for cover. Reznik held his fire, not wanting to accidentally hit any of the captive women.

  He flanked the pens, keeping the AK tight against his shoulder as he looked down the iron sights. The pathway between the pens was clear. A scuffing sound behind him made him whirl, but it was just Rin moving toward him, katana drawn and coated with green blood.

  “I lost them,” she said. “They were right there but then withdrew.”

  “I can sense them watching,” he replied. “We better take them out before we try to get the captives. I don’t want them getting hurt in the crossfire.”

  “Hello? Who’s there?” a tentative voice asked. It came from somewhere down the path between the pens. “Please, let us out of here.”

  Reznik moved down the path a short distance and saw a young woman looking through the slats of one of the pens. She was young and pretty with short, dark hair.

  “Just sit tight,” he said. “They’re still out there. We’ll get you out of there in just a minute.”

  The woman looked around, trying to pinpoint his voice, obviously unable to see him in the darkness. “Okay,” she whispered. “Please hurry.”

  “Watch out!” Rin shouted.

  Reznik whirled but couldn’t see anything. He felt a sudden rush of air and his vision distorted momentarily in front of him. He was slammed backward as a powerful form dropped out of the air. The AK-47 was knocked out of his hands, and his arm felt as though it nearly shattered from the blow. He was propelled backward into the wall of one of the pens, collapsing in a tangle of metal and wood as the wall broke apart beneath him.

  The mutant he had shot earlier leaped over the low barrier and attacked him again, slashing with its claws. He managed to fend off a couple slashes, but his clothes were shredded. His HUD lit up like a Christmas tree: both damage and radiation alerts at the mutant’s proximity flashed. The Tachibana rifle was digging uncomfortably into his shoulder blade, but he couldn’t get to it. He kicked the mutant in its ruined knee, causing the leg to buckle. It cried out but kept tearing at him. Reznik grasped it by the wrists, and it took every ounce of his boosted strength to force its arms away, but he couldn’t let go. He tried to roll it off of himself, but he couldn’t get enough leverage against its substantial bulk, which kept him pinned. As he desperately sought to extricate himself, the mutant growled and bared its fangs. Its mouth came down to tear out his throat.

  Reznik saw a flash of steel, and then one of the monster’s glowing eyes winked out as Rin’s katana carved a gash across its eye socket, causing gore to spurt out and run down its cheek. With another slash of her blade, its arm flopped limply as she severed the tendons on the inside of its elbow. Reznik watched in sick fascination as its bicep snapped up and deflated like a punctured balloon. The mutant reared back, and Reznik put his boot to its chest and kicked it off of himself. Rin’s small hand was like a vice as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him clear of the debris.

  She darted in and hacked the throat out of the wounded mutant. It futilely groped at its torn neck, blood cascading down its chest. After a moment, it crumpled, motionless. That thing better be dead this time.

  “Damn, that was close. Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me yet,” Rin replied. “There’s at least two more, and I’m sure more will be on their way now.”

  As soon as she spoke the words, Reznik realized how deathly quiet it had become in the cavern. Marcus’s siren had been silenced.

  ***

  Three mutants burst out of the mouth of the cavern, heads swiveling as they sought out the source of the deafening noise. A red light blinked on the metal body of the screamer, embedded in the rock of the cliff directly above the entranceway. Marcus marveled at the creatures, for they were fascinating specimens. They were bestial and powerful—inhuman, yet somehow more than human. Is it more accurate to think of them as mutants or human-alien hybrids? He watched them from his position across the chasm overlooking the cavern.

  The first mutant scrabbled up the side of the cliff face and yanked the screamer free of the stone. It fell onto the ledge below, where one of the others quickly stomped on the device until it went silent.

  “Take them,” he called into the external headset he wore since his Datalink implant was still damaged. He was starting to get a sense of déjà vu from the earlier failed mission.

  Bethany and the two skins with her popped up from their cover directly across the chasm from where Marcus watched. The skins were twenty feet above the ledge where the mutants stood. Bethany fi
red a couple rounds from the electroshock gun at the mutant that still clung to the wall. It howled in pain as it convulsed and fell from the wall, hitting the stone ledge with a loud thud.

  The two grunts fired their pulse rifles at the remaining two mutants. The energy blasts crackled into the torsos of the mutants, driving one of them over the side into the chasm. It fell silently into the abyss. The other mutant stumbled and tried to retreat into the cave, but the skin put a few blasts into its head, and it dropped to the ground and lay still.

  The mutant that had been shocked twitched on the ground from the high voltage coursing through its body. Bethany dropped down to the ledge and moved forward in a crouch. The two skins followed her down and covered the cave behind her. She fired a couple more rounds into the mutant just to be sure. Electricity crackled around its body, and it convulsed a few more times before going still. She slid an immobilizer from her belt and keyed the trigger, ensnaring the creature in the net that shot out of the baton. Graphene filaments dug into its hide as the net cinched tightly around the creature until it was held fast.

  “The creature is secure. Let’s get out of here,” Bethany called over the open channel. Marcus heard the thrusters fire up on the drop ship and felt the air stir as it lifted off behind him. He got to his feet.

  “Nice job, people,” he called. The ship swooped in, and he clambered up the open hatch. The drop ship swung across the chasm and hovered over the ledge. Bethany hopped gracefully into the ship, and the two grunts heaved the massive creature into the cargo bay. Marcus jabbed it with a tranq, and they settled in for the flight back home. Bagged and tagged. I can’t wait to see the look on Barbosa’s face when we drop this thing at his feet. A smile stole onto his face. For the first time since the failed attempt to secure the mutant canine, the resulting crash, and the ordeal in the wasteland, things were starting to look up.

  Chapter 19

  The male and the female soldier both warily searched the cavern below. The First was impressed—they were tough and adaptable and worked well as a team. The two of them were wounded though, and the male soldier was running out of weapons. Now that the damned siren was silenced, the First could finally hear himself think. His other brother was crouched just out of sight behind the hog pen.

  The First raised his voice and howled, summoning the rest of the Bright Ones to his aid. This would end now. He waited for the opportunity to strike again.

  ***

  “Did you find out how to switch to infrared?” Rin asked. She glanced around nervously. The beast’s roar was undoubtedly a call to its ilk, and neither of them wanted to have to face any more of the things.

  “Working on it.” Reznik pulled up his HUD and accessed a few menus. This damn thing is about as user friendly as trying to program an old VCR. He finally gave up and tried the thought interface, which he normally used to control the zoom and low-light enhancement. Surprisingly, it worked. The cavern changed from the night-vision palette of greens to one of blues and grays. And orange and red. There’s that big son of a bitch, he thought. The large heat signature was perched on a ledge about thirty feet up the wall of the huge cavern.

  “Don’t look, but that big bastard is behind you about a quarter of the way up the wall,” he leaned in and whispered to Rin. “Let’s wait till he pounces and then let him have it.”

  Rin agreed and walked a few steps away, casually turning so she could see the creature out of the corner of her eye.

  Reznik went and retrieved his AK-47. He cursed as he saw the barrel was bent. He unslung the high-powered Tachibana and hoped he would have enough room to use the long rifle.

  The lesser mutant that Rin had wounded earlier charged them. Reznik brought the rifle up as if to fire, but he kept an eye on the invisible mutant. Sure enough, as soon as the first one engaged them, the second one attacked. Reznik whirled and squeezed off a shot at the rapidly growing red-and-orange heat signature as the mutant leaped down from the ledge. A white-hot burst struck the chest of the mutant, but it kept coming. Reznik dodged to the side, and the mutant landed heavily. The rifle’s report was a sharp crack that resonated in the cavern. Another white-hot burst flared in the beast’s side, and it roared. He dodged again as it lunged at him, wildly swinging its deadly claws.

  Behind the invisible mutant, Rin parried and slashed at the first one. Its wounds were hot spots against the darker-red heat signature. It looked to be weakening fast, and a couple stabs through the chest finished it off.

  The invisible mutant bull-rushed Reznik. He dodged again, but it clipped his arm with its claw. Another warning flashed on his HUD. The mutant swung at him and he ducked, but it was a feint. The creature grabbed his rifle and tried to tear it out of his hands. Reznik held on and tried to wrestle it away, but this mutant was bigger and stronger than the others. It picked him up as he held onto the gun and swung him around. Rin ducked out of the way as it hurled him and the rifle across the cavern.

  Reznik braced himself for the impact. He managed to get his legs in front to try to absorb the impact. As he attempted to tumble to break his fall, the mutant was already there, following up its attack. It clubbed him in the head, and Reznik felt the unpleasant sensation of his head bouncing off the stone. He lay dazed and saw the monster’s claw slash at his face. He tried to roll away but was too slow. The serrated blade cut across his forehead. The last thing he saw beyond the alerts on his HUD and the blood dripping into his eyes was another pair of mutants rushing into the cavern. Oh, shit. This is going to be game over, he thought.

  ***

  Rin cut down her opponent just in time to see Reznik go down hard as the other mutant tossed him across the cavern like a rag doll. She ran to help him, but the mutant had already slashed him across the face. She drove the katana into its back, and the blade sank in to the hilt. The mutant fell to one knee and coughed up a gout of blood. She slid the blade free and prepared to finish it off when she heard the scrape of claws on stone. She whirled to see two more of the mutants poised to attack her from behind.

  The first one’s claw struck sparks off her katana as Rin deflected its strike. She slashed at the other one and backed away, not wanting to get surrounded by the three of them. A quick glance at Reznik showed he was lying still on the ground, face covered in blood. He didn’t look as though he was getting up again anytime soon, if at all.

  Rin eyed the three remaining mutants. The invisible one was back on its feet and moving to attack her from behind. More were bound to be on their way. The two smaller mutants moved to cut off her escape. I think I’ve gone above and beyond keeping my bargain with Reznik. Another minute or two, and we’re both dead. If I make it out of here, I won’t even have to go back to Planter’s Ridge—I can just strike out for the Pac-Rim and regroup and plan our next step. I can send a medic to check on Ichiro. I’ve had enough bloody conflicts fought in the bowels of the earth to last me a lifetime.

  Rin attacked with renewed fury, forcing the two smaller mutants back and scoring a number of minor cuts in the process. She disengaged from them and bolted for the passageway.

  She was halfway to making her escape when guilt struck. He wouldn’t abandon me here. Her thoughts flashed back to many years ago when she had left another companion dying on the pavement as she made her own escape from a gang of thugs chasing her. She knew there was likely nothing she could have done, besides ending up dead as well, but that didn’t stop the guilt.

  God damn it, it sure is difficult trying to choose the honorable path. She slowed and stopped just before the mouth of the passageway. One finds life through conquering the fear of death within one's mind. The words were her father’s. He had been fond of quoting long-dead samurais. She had thought the practice quaint and usually ignored the ramblings of an old man. In that moment of loneliness though, she suddenly missed her father dearly. Throughout her life, she had spurned her family and pursued a career, to the detriment of her personal relationships. Look how I ended up after a lifetime of abandoning people that ma
ttered to me. Something clicked in her mind, and she knew she couldn’t abandon her companion.

  The scrabble of claws on stone snapped Rin out of her reverie. She spun around to face them, twirling the katana through a defensive pattern until the blade flowed like quicksilver in her hands. The two lesser mutants stopped and backpedaled away from her. Rin furiously pressed the assault, seeing fear on the monsters’ faces as they tried to retreat. One tried to block her attack, and she cleaved its arm clean off at the elbow. White-hot blood spewed like a volcano from the wound in her infrared vision. Yes, fear me. A stab through the eye finished that one off.

  The other mutant turned to flee, and she severed the tendon at the back of its knee, sending it flopping face-first to the ground. She stepped on its back and finished it off with a strike to the brain stem. The creature shuddered and lay still.

  The greater mutant watched her from a few yards away. “Yes… I like the fight in you. It’s like a hunger when the blood starts flowing, isn’t it?” rumbled the mutant in its gravelly voice. She could see the fresh wounds covering the beast’s torso from her sword and Reznik’s bullets. It reared up to its full height and opened its mouth wide, displaying long, sharp teeth. Through her infrared, it looked like a demon, heat blazing from its eyes and mouth as if an internal fire consumed it.

  Rin charged, trying to gain the advantage of the first attack. As huge as the mutant was, it was still surprisingly quick—resilient as well. She hacked deep into its forearm, but it shrugged off the cut. The blade got caught as the mutant twisted its arm away, pulling her briefly off balance. Rin tried to recover, but its other claw ripped at her side. She distantly noted the damage displayed on her HUD. She freed her blade and spun away.