The boy’s eyes flicked to the man.
“OK mister, hands on your head, you too kid,” Mercy brought the grenade to her chest.
Mercy’s captives did as they were told, their eyes never leaving her. Mercy lowered the grenade to waist height, “Now, both of you, lie down, flat on your face, do it now—”
They dropped to the floor and did as she said.
Mercy took her finger out of the pin, withdrew her silenced SIG and pointed it at the boy. “You. Kid. Get the gate keys and radio off your buddy there and hand them to me. Don’t try anything stupid—”
The boy slid over to the man, took the radio and handed it to Mercy. He began searching the man’s pockets. Mercy attached the radio to her webbing.
“They’re in my waistcoat pocket on a chain,” the man said, “here—” he rolled to one side. His right hand disappeared behind his leg.
Mercy registered the movement and squeezed the silenced SIG’s trigger twice. The gun spat out the double tap; one 9mm round slamming into the man’s right eye the other round shattering his right shoulder. Mercy saw the Walther CCP M2 in his hand.
“That’s what happens when you don’t listen,” she hissed at the youth. “It’s always the fucking same, people think they can dodge bullets—”
“Don’t shoot lady,” the boy said, his hands trembling. “Don’t shoot, I don’t wanna die—”
Mercy levelled the SIG at him, “Keys, now.”
The boy pulled the keys from the dead man’s waistcoat and handed them to her.
Mercy stepped over to the opening in the floor and signalled to Rose. Seconds later Rose was up and had taken in the situation. Rose reached into a pocket and produced cable ties. She gagged and tied up the boy.
Mercy put her SIG away, “You’ll be OK kid, it’s safe up here. Once it’s over you’ll figure a way out—”
Mercy retrieved the Walther CCP M2 pistol and looked out over the compound, things were calm. She glanced at the confined space beyond the gate, thousands of corralled tropes filled the enclosed area.
“Come on Rose, we’ve got work to do—”
Chapter 28
Gates of Hell
Mercy slid the first key into the top padlock. She turned it, the lock opened. She glanced at Rose, “OK Rose, I think you’d better get back, they’re gonna push through when I open the gate—”
Rose stepped away, “I’ll go up the watchtower, keep our boy company. Join us once the dust has settled, then we can mingle with the tropes and go find Riker.”
Mercy nodded, “Yeah… wing it as usual.”
“SNAFU,” Rose gave a wry smile.
Rose left Mercy at the gate and retreated to the tower’s ladder. Mercy turned her attention to the second padlock. She leaned forwards and pressed her ear to the gate.
I can hear them, on the other side… it’s like they’re sleeping. When I open this it’ll be like… throwing petrol on a fire—
Mercy took a breath and slid the top bolt back. Rain dripped onto her hands. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Her hand hovered over the second bolt, she checked that Rose was gone.
Do it—
Mercy retracted the bolt and moved to one side pressing her back against the wall. For a few seconds nothing happened then the gate swung open and back, towards her. Mercy raised her arms to cushion the impact. A collective murmur came from the other side of the wall.
Fresh meat, come on, come on in—
Mercy stood on tiptoes and looked through a viewing slit in the gate. A knot of tropes staggered through the entrance pushed by those behind. Without warning one snapped its head up, let out a high pitched scream and ran towards the men around the fire barrel. Two more followed, then the dam burst. Scores of tropes surged through the open gate. Those that were weak fell and were trampled. Gunfire erupted from deeper inside the compound. Mercy tried to slide towards the tower but the pressure on the gate trapped her.
Tropes were everywhere, the air charged with their bloodlust. Mercy looked up.
The scaffolding’s in reach—
She raised her arms and grabbed the horizontal brace on the reverse of the gate. She lifted her foot and found the lower brace, she stepped up. Half wriggling, half climbing, she managed to grab the top of the gate. She reached out to the scaffolding, pulled herself up and began climbing the watchtower. More gunfire and screams came from the compound. An explosion rocked the inner gate as the horde penetrated deeper. Mercy’s cheeks were on fire, rain sluiced down her back, her eyes were bright.
Hang on goddammit—
Mercy kept climbing, the scaffolding cold under her hands. Pain, muscles burning, lungs bursting. Rose’s face, her hair wild in the wind, a hand, a lift and then Mercy was up, her face pressed against the platform’s wooden floor.
“You did it,” Rose said, helping Mercy into a sitting position.
Mercy was light headed from the exertion. She closed her eyes and allowed the sensation to subside.
“They set off my booby trap trying to close the inner gate… result—” Rose said, her voice matter-of-fact.
The gunfire reached a crescendo, automatic weapons spat hails of bullets against the flood of dead. Fire had broken out around the compound, flames were consuming several of the prefabricated buildings, the compound was lit in a hellish glow.
“The bullets always run out,” Rose said, she went to the railing and looked out over the compound.
You should put that on a T-shirt Rose—
Mercy joined her and stared at the chaos below. “Shit, that’s a lot of pain right there.”
Rose stiffened and grabbed Mercy’s arm and pointed. A disturbance was visible in the trope horde outside the compound, something strong was pushing towards the gate. Mercy stiffened.
Shit, super tropes, like at the stadium—
Rose’s voice frayed, “There, there… and there,” she pointed out over the horde. “There’s at least six of them coming at the gate, they’ll see through our biotech, they’ll sense us as soon as they make it through the gate—”
“Shit, shit—” Mercy swore and grabbed the two sawn off shotguns from the floor. “We’ll just have to fight them off, we’ve got the advantage of height so make every shot count—” She pulled out the captured SAR9 and Walther CCP M2 pistols, giving them to Rose.
Mercy watched as the first super trope pushed through the front gate. She tracked its progress across the outer compound. It stopped in its tracks, turned and stared back at the tower. The hairs on Mercy’s neck stood up as she met the super trope’s gaze.
How do they know—?
The super trope turned and pushed through the horde towards the tower.
“More coming,” Rose warned from the side.
The super trope disappeared beneath the tower. Mercy looked through the opening in the floor.
“It’s climbing up the ladder. Christ, it’s fast—” Mercy pointed the shotgun through the opening and squeezed the trigger.
The super trope’s head disappeared in a splatter of bone and blood. It fell from the ladder to the ground below.
“The others are beneath us,” Rose’s voice, tense, alarmed.
Mercy rushed to the side and looked down. “They’re up to something.”
“Fuck, there’s loads of them, they’re climbing up the way you came,” Rose rushed to the other side of the tower.
Mercy took the two remaining grenades from her webbing, pulled the pins and dropped them over the railing.
A super trope appeared at the side, a blur of movement. It flung itself at Rose, its mouth wide, teeth exposed. Rose dodged as Mercy brought the second shotgun up, her finger jerking the trigger hard. The blast took the trope in the chest, it staggered back towards the railing. Two explosions shook the base of tower, the platform swayed. Mercy fell to her feet, alarm in her eyes.
“What—? Rose—?”
The tower tilted towards the compound. The sound of grating metal filled the air.
Rose appeared at M
ercy’s side and lifted her up. “We’re going down, jump… with me—”
Mercy seized Rose’s hand and jumped from the tower as it collapsed to the ground. It fell just short of the woodpile in the outer compound. Mercy landed on the woodpile, a collection of rotten pallets broke her fall. She rolled over, winded and in pain.
Fuck. This. Shit.
Mercy’s vision blurred, then focused on her surroundings. She glanced back, the tower was gone, a swathe of tropes lay crushed under its bulk. The woodpile was an island in a sea of frenzied tropes. Movement beside her. Mercy reached for her knife.
Rose’s bloodied face appeared through the dim light, “Come on, we gotta move, those fuckers won’t stop.” Rose glanced back towards the open gate.
The super tropes have our scent—
Mercy took Rose’s hand, “Hold on, don’t let go. We’ve got to lose ourselves in the crowd, get to the inner compound, find Riker’s bunker… it’ll be the most heavily fortified. Take my arm—”
Rose nodded. They looked down at the heaving mass of tropes. “Don’t worry, it’ll be like surfing the crowd in a mosh pit,” Rose’s eyes held a glint of madness.
Surf the wave of dead—
They clambered down the woodpile and were swallowed by the undead tide surging towards the inner compound.
Biotech’s working—
The inner gates grew closer and passed in a blur as the horde forced its way through the gap.
They’re unstoppable—
Rotting, dead faces surrounded them, hunger and bloodlust alive in the rain.
Feeding frenzy—
Blood splattered through the air as another victim was torn apart, further inflaming the crowd’s hunger.
This is insanity—
A savage push. Mercy’s head dipped below the crowd, her feet were swept from under her, she struggled to keep upright. She fought her way back to the surface, pushing through the sea of stinking, emaciated bodies.
Rose—? Shit, Rose, where are you—?
Mercy looked around. Rose was gone, lost in the chaos of hunger and violence.
Rose—?
A surge pulsed through the crowd, pushing Mercy further into the inner compound. Buildings and containers passed on either side. Towards the rear of the compound one building loomed larger than the others.
No windows… gun slits… that could be it—
The dead were swarming around the building, their hands raised, pawing at its concrete walls.
Mercy was pushed close to the building. A large trope stood pressed against the wall, unable to move. Mercy squeezed in behind it, reached up to its shoulders and stuck a knee in the small of its back. She kicked against the crowd, gaining a fleeting foothold and pulled herself up and onto the trope’s shoulders. Her hands reached the edge of the building’s flat roof, her feet scrabbled against the concrete wall as she hauled herself up the remaining section. She screamed, railing against the pain in her muscles.
Mercy lay gasping on the roof. She stared at the night sky. Rain splattered her face, drowning her tears. Her heart hammered, her chest rattled. She closed her eyes.
I’ve had enough, it’s not worth it, not without—
A scream, a shout above the slavering crowd.
“What—?”
Mercy blinked and looked around. Light spilled from an open roof hatch on her left. She frowned and pushed herself up, looking out over the crowd. A familiar figure was staggering towards her across the roof of the next building.
Rose, oh my god, Rose, you’re alive—
Adrenaline surged through Mercy. “Rose, over here—” Mercy waved her arms and caught Rose’s attention.
Rose nodded, straightened up and ran. The prefabricated building beneath Rose started to collapse under the weight of hundreds of pressing trope bodies. Mercy watched in horror as the roof caved in behind Rose. Mercy stood at the edge of the concrete building, she tried to estimate the distance between the two buildings.
What is it? Seven… ten feet—?
Rose made it to the edge of the collapsing building. She jumped across the gap towards Mercy. Their eyes met. Mercy reached out into the yawning space. Rose’s right foot caught the side of the concrete roof, her left foot missed, treading air. She fell back. Mercy seized Rose’s flailing arm. Rose slammed against the wall and went limp.
Son of a bitch—
Pain seared through Mercy’s arm. She closed her eyes and pulled hard, her feet scrabbling on the concrete roof. Movement. Rose’s weight lessening. Mercy staggered back, still gripping Rose’s arm. Mercy opened her eyes. Rose was lying on her stomach, her legs projecting out over the edge of the roof.
What just happened? Rose—?
Confusion and hope tumbled through Mercy’s mind.
Rose raised her head from the wet concrete and looked at Mercy. “Not bad sister, you can let go of my arm though, I think I’m going to need it.”
Mercy released Rose and watched as her friend struggled to her feet.
She’s lost her gear. Shit, I’m the same—
Mercy looked down, her clothes were torn and bloody. She was surprised to see the SIG still in her thigh holster. She reached down and pulled out the gun checking the magazine.
Five rounds left, Jesus—
Rose looked at the burning compound. Her shoulders sagged, “Bastards don’t give up, do they?”
Mercy joined her on the edge of the roof. Rose pointed towards the inner gate, “Look, one, two… three super tropes—”
Mercy glanced at the compound’s inner walls, “Four, five… six—”
Rose turned towards the open roof hatch. “We’ve got to take our chances down there.”
They looked through the hatch, a storm lantern lit up the room below. A plate of food and a steaming mug of coffee lay on the table.
Mercy pulled a face, “Riker’s bunker, his underground complex, we’re backing ourselves into a corner. Bad shit behind us, bad shit in front—” she glanced at the compound wall behind the bunker.
“Yeah, a proper shit sandwich. Whatever we’re gonna do, we’d better do it quick, those fuckers are nearly here—” Rose spat onto the roof and bent down to pull a Glock 43 compact pistol from her ankle holster.
Mercy’s eyes fell on a dump truck parked alongside the wall.
Fuck it. We’ve done enough, get the hell out of here—
Mercy pointed to the truck, “You think you could make that jump Rose? To the hood?”
“Shit,” Rose’s face fell. “Yeah, after that last jump, that one’s a piece of piss.”
“We’ll use the truck to get over the wall—”
Mercy took a few steps back, ran at the roof edge and jumped out over the tropes. She landed on the truck’s hood, she sprang up the windscreen and dropped into the open high-sided rear section of the truck. Rose made the jump and joined Mercy. Mercy climbed up the back of the dump truck towards the walkway behind the wall.
Rose screamed a warning, Mercy swung right. A super trope appeared over the side of the container. Rose fired the Glock 43 in its face, the trope fell away.
Mercy pulled out her SIG, a sinking feeling in her guts. “We’re too late, they’re here.”
Two more super tropes appeared over the side of the truck, one on Mercy’s left, the other behind Rose. Mercy shouted a warning and blasted at the nearest trope. Rose spun around and shot the one behind her. Without warning the trope horde began to attack the dump truck, rocking it from side to side.
Mercy raised her SIG, “Christ, they’re learning. They’re gonna push the truck over, spill us out. Come on, we’ve got to get over the wall now—”
Mercy holstered her gun and clambered up onto the adjacent walkway. Rose was seconds behind. Mercy pulled Rose onto the walkway as the truck tilted over and crashed to the ground.
Rose pointed along the walkway fifty yards away. “They’re coming up for us,” she swung around, “on both sides.”
Mercy glanced up at the remaining section of
wall then across the gap at Riker’s bunker ten feet away, “Dammit, we’re not going to make it. Rose, help me.”
Mercy bent down and, together with Rose, lifted a wooden plank from the walkway and pushed it out across the gap onto the bunker’s roof.
“Go, go Rose, you first—”
Rose ran across the plank back onto the bunker roof. Mercy fired wildly left and right before darting across to join Rose. Two super tropes reached the plank and bounded across. Mercy shoved Rose through the open hatch then kicked the end of the plank, almost dislodging it. One of the super tropes fell into the crowd below but the second one came on. Mercy dropped through the hatch, her feet finding the ladder rungs. She slammed the hatch shut and turned the locking mechanism.
An inhuman scream penetrated the hatch from outside.
Chapter 29
Underground
Mercy gripped the hatch lock, her knuckles white. She stared at the veins on the back of her hand. Banging vibrated through the hatch.
Clusterfuck—
She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the ladder, her body rigid.
Footsteps below. Rose’s voice.
“The good news is the place is secure; it’s a concrete bunker, some gun slits but no windows. I found two shotguns, slug rounds… some 9mm ammo, hell, even a pot of coffee and some food—”
Mercy pulled her head away from the ladder, “And the bad news—?”
Rose coughed, “Well, I can’t exactly see a way out… but there’s a door—”
Mercy descended the ladder and stood, dazed, in the centre of the room. She looked at the table, the storm lantern, the plate of food and coffee. “They left in a hurry.” She sat at the table and let out a sigh, “Rose, I need to think—”
Rose put her Glock 43 on the table and pulled the food towards her. “Well, I’m going to eat while you think. Don’t worry, I’ll leave some for you.”
We gotta stay here, wait for the dust to settle. We’ve done enough, we’ve busted this place open. If we go underground, we’re playing into Riker’s hands, it’ll be suicide—
Fear Mercy Page 18