by Teo Xue Shen
“Ren.” Idphor’s hand comes down on my shoulder just as I’m about to walk through the doorway.
I stop short so suddenly that ahead, Raine turns around in alarm, shooting me a quizzical look. I stare at Idphor, not daring to believe that he just called me something that isn’t related to the word “shit”.
“Uh…yeah?”
“Come with me a moment.”
“Huh? Uh…okay.”
I nod to Raine, who looks ready to poke Idphor in the eye, letting her know that everything’s all right. She squints at us suspiciously, then shrugs and shuts the door behind her. Idphor starts off down the corridor. It takes me a moment to realise that I’m supposed to follow him. I run to catch up, drawing level with him at the foot of a long, rectangular building. The trainers’ accommodation block. He leads me up to the fourth floor, stopping outside a door with his name written on the door plate.
“Come in and sit down.”
I do as I’m told, taking the only chair in the room. Idphor shuts the door and sits on his bed. Beside him is a dusty cabinet laden with files. On the celling, a single fan whirls dismally.
“So?” He raises his eyebrows.
“Uh…what?”
“How did it go?”
Without doubt, I know that he’s asking about April.
“It was hard,” I admit. “But she’ll come to accept it. She’s stronger than we give her credit for.”
“Thought so,” he sniffs, fixing me with a hard look. “You do know that more of that should be expected if you carry on with your insane plan, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I say evenly. “We’re prepared for it.”
“You’re confident that you can assassinate that bastard?” he lowers his voice.
“Uh…I mean…I’m not exactly sure how things will go on that day…I mean, we’ll definitely try and…”
Quick as a flash, Idphor whips out his Extension and strikes at my face. Instinctively, I twist out of the way, leaping out of the chair, which topples over behind me. There’s a soft thunk as his Extension takes a chunk out of the wall.
“Stop.” He says quietly.
My fingers are half a centimetre away from his eyes.
“You must understand,” he continues, retracting his Extension with a strange, almost satisfied look on his face. “That people are often stronger than they think they are.”
I watch the Extension vanish.
Until now, it somehow never struck me how well-matched they are, Idphor and his Extension. It looks like it’s naturally a part of him.
“Right. Is there anything else you’ll need? Or you’ll need to know?”
I open my mouth to decline when something comes briefly to mind. Something I’m reminded of when I saw Idphor’s Extension.
“Just one thing,” I say slowly. “How did you know what sort of Extensions would fit us best?”
He gets to his feet and for a moment, I think it’s the end of my audience with him. But instead of shooing me away, he stalks over to the cabinet and selects one of the newer files.
“This.”
He flips open the file, revealing a convoluted flowchart. It’s filled with character and physical traits, ending with a string of numbers at the bottom. There’s a chart for each of the members in our squad, each bearing a different numerical series. On the final page is a document containing the names of hundreds of animals and their corresponding numbers.
“It’s a long, tedious process,” Idphor growls, taking the file away and stowing it back into the cabinet, but not before I catch a glimpse of the words “borderline rebellious” scrawled under my name. “For example, you tend to conceal stuff about yourself, using your fighting skills to make up for your lack of openness, hence, the emperor scorpion, which hides behind its pincers and venomous stinger. In Raine’s case, her brash inquisitiveness compounded with the ability to back herself up if things get hairy makes her a perfect candidate for the mantis shrimp.”
How does he know? And how much? I’m starting to feel a little discomfort at his words.
“You know,” I hastily change the topic. “You may seem harsh, but deep down, you actually care about us, don’t you?”
“Don’t bet on it.” He glares at me. “It’s just that there’s too much at stake for me to sit by the sidelines.”
“Sure,” I smirk.
“Now, that’s enough of you,” Idphor ushers me out of the door. “Get out and stay out of trouble. Don’t forget, sit tight.”
So, we sit. I remove our explosive bracelets, keeping them with me for future use. April somehow manages to get her hands on a couple of radio-like devices and fiddles with them from day to night, taking them apart and placing them back together again, tweaking certain parts to her own satisfaction. As for the rest of us, we go through the plan again and again, highlighting the more important points and our contingency measures. We spend countless hours rehearsing, like nervous children on the night before a school play. Even though there is nothing much else to do and I’m basically bored all the time, time seems to fly by in the blink of an eye.
“Nervous?” I ask, smiling slightly.
It’s the night before our big day.
“Nah, I’m not nervous.” Raine shakes her head. “I’m terrified as heck.”
“Same here,” I laugh. “I almost can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Yeah,” she replies. “We might not live to see a second sunrise after tomorrow.”
My expression droops.
“So many things could go wrong, huh?”
“Wipe that look off your face,” she chides lightly. “If anything goes wrong, so be it. I’m not about to regret anything from this point onwards. And if I die, well, too bad.”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Ren, promise me one thing.”
“I’ll try my best,” I say, watching her curiously. “What is it?”
“If, I’m just saying, if anything happens to me, please let the last thing I see be your face.”
My face turns a bright shade of red. Score one for you, Raine. I nod slowly.
“I’ll try,” I repeat.
Then, as I get to my feet, I bend over and my lips brush against her cheek ever so slightly. She turns to me in shock, but I’m already on my way to wash up. Serves her right for acting so nonchalantly after that kiss. Score one for me too, I suppose.
21
My heart is throbbing. Not just because of the impending mission, but also because of the girl who’s walking beside me. She’s harsh, fierce and strong, but at the same time, tender, kind and emotional. I guess that’s what made me unable to leave her alone right from the start. After that kiss, I couldn’t settle down whenever she was around. Maybe it’s because I’ve been stuck in the military all my life and it’s my first time feeling like this.
“What’s the matter?” The source of my troubles nudges me hard in the ribs. “You look creepy. Focus on the mission, will you?”
“Sorry,” I smile. “I’m just worried that you might explode in rage and ruin our plans.”
“Shut up,” Raine sniffs. “I’ll see this through, just wait and see.”
We’re herded along towards the multipurpose hall. Halfway there, the throng of soldiers is split into those who have gotten their Extensions and those who have not. We join the latter, fully equipped with the fake passes Idphor got for us. The excitement in the air is almost suffocating. I don’t blame the soldiers. After all, this is the first time they’ll be seeing their beloved, mythical Captain. And live, onstage, no less. We’re brought into the massive hall while those with Extensions are seated behind a wall of bulletproof glass, specially set up for this occasion. The hall has changed since I last saw it. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling above the soldiers, giving the place a misplaced air of grandeur. On stage, a podium festooned with potted plants sits before a flashy banner mounted as the backdrop.
All our weapons have been left in our room. A thorough check involving met
al detectors tells us that they’re serious about security. Fortunately, there isn’t a way to scan for the presence of Extensions so we manage to mingle with the soldiers who haven’t gotten theirs.
“Quiet down!” a man yells into a microphone, trying in vain to quell the bubble of excitement in the air.
It’s that deputy. The same guy from two years back who spoke to us after we were assigned to our respective squads. Oh, how far we have come since then. There’s a burst of heat and the blaring of trumpets. Everyone shuts up immediately. The Captain has arrived.
The first to enter are the Heires. Four of them. Next come two elite guards, their faces stony and morose. Then, the Captain, beaming and triumphant. Following which, another two guards and four more Heires. I feel a stinging pain, glance down and realise that my fists are clenched so hard that my fingernails have dug into my palms. Hate. It’s the only emotion I’m feeling right now. My parents. Rick. The millions of innocent lives. I can’t focus on anything else.
“Please rise to salute the Captain.”
I rise, but I don’t salute. They probably won’t notice anyway. April and Ivy do the same, their hands curled into fists by their sides. Raine stares blankly at the Captain for a moment, then slowly, deliberately raises her middle finger in a salute. She touches the fingertip to her eyebrow and spits onto the ground. Thankfully, no one notices, their eyes fixed on the Captain in reverence.
“At ease,” the Captain laughs heartily. “Be seated. It is with pride that I present to you the fruits of our labour today.”
We sit. All attention is now focused on the stage, especially on the eight Heires.
“Soldiers,” the Captain booms. “For years, we have fought a brutal, bloody war against the Savages in order to keep them from getting their claws on our loved ones. Don’t ask me why, but they seem to insist on breaching the eighteen walls. There has even been speculation that they might feast on human flesh.”
“Bastard,” Raine snarls under her breath. “I wonder how he sleeps at night.”
“However,” he continues, “however, this is the turning point we’ve all been waiting for. The Hekatonkheires. Since their deployment to the battlefield, they have pushed back the Savages at an unprecedented level. We have claimed victory after victory, despite recalling all of our other soldiers. Not to worry, you’ll all be learning to fight together with the Hekatonkheires in due time.”
Nervous laughter.
“And now for the statistics. We have deployed two thousand, six hundred and thirty Hekatonkheires, of which only forty-three have been destroyed. This means that for each Hekatonkheire destroyed, at least sixty Savages are killed, or should I say, euthanised.”
He continues rambling on. I shoot a glance at Raine. It’s time. I gulp and nod ever so slightly. Raine begins the assault. All eight clubs of her Extension rocket skywards, punching out the lights and sending a shower of broken glass raining down on the stunned audience. We’re plunged into darkness. April is next, barely even half a second later. Her Extension explodes forward, aiming straight for the Captain. Just when I thought we’ve done it, one of the Heires gets in the way. It’s destroyed on the spot. Cursing, Raine knocks the Heire’s body out of the way with her Extension. Instant pandemonium. April strikes again, just milliseconds after her first strike. This time, a guard intercepts her Extension with his own. I fling myself at the Captain, taking a swing at his accursed, scarred head with my Extension. Revenge denied. Ivy and Raine follow suit, attacking desperately, trying to force their way through to finish him off. Sirens begin wailing. The Captain is whisked away by his guards, leaving the Heires behind to deal with us. Shit. We’ve missed our best chance.
“Give chase,” I roar over the chaos in the hall. “We’ll finish it.”
People are crowding the exits while soldiers are trying to get in. Everyone is shouting. We dive into the crowd. As expected, the Heires do not attack. They can’t. Not with that many people around. Ivy unfurls her Extension. Instantly, a path begins to clear before her as people scuttle out of the way. Before the Heires can reach us, we’re out, smashing our way through the wall. There is a vehicle speeding away in the distance. The Captain’s. I’m starting to think we’re screwed. There’s no way we can catch up to it, even if we were to use our Extensions.
A horn blares. I jump, turning around only to find a car with Idphor in the driver’s seat. He waves us onboard.
“Get in and gear up,” he roars as he floors the accelerator.
Our weapons and equipment are inside the car.
“Thought this might happen so I decided to help you out a little.”
“Nice to see how much faith you have in us,” I comment wryly.
“What the hell happened to not revealing your identity?” Raine yells from the backseat.
“Screw that,” Idphor laughs, spinning the wheel manically. “I’d rather die than listen to those bare-faced lies of that bastard for another second.”
He spits out of the window in contempt. The vehicle ahead is getting bigger. We’re gaining. The terrain clears up as the road widens, our surroundings consisting of asphalt roads devoid of any prominent landmarks. This is strangely familiar. We’ve been here before, when we were headed towards the eighteen walls for our deployment. Then, the vehicle stops abruptly, right at the foot of the first wall. The guards in the watchtower beside us are shouting in alarm, but we ignore them, fully focused on our target. The Captain and his guards leap out, vanishing down a flight of stairs which seem to extend into the ground itself. A trapdoor of some sort. There’s a loud rumbling as a set of horizontal doors begin to close. We squeeze through, just in time to see the doors clamp shut behind us.
A light flickers. We’re in a dimly lit bunker. As we hurry after our quarry, we discover numerous caverns and tunnels branching outwards, forming an extensive network of passages. Inside several of the caverns, I spot rows upon rows of Heires lined up neatly, awaiting activation.
“What the hell is this place?” Raine hisses. “Why don’t we know about this?”
“A hideout in case of an emergency,” Idphor shrugs. “It’s pretty obvious.”
We don’t get the chance to say any more. The Heires and the guards surrounding the Captain spin around sharply and converge on us. The Captain, however, continues running, his figure rapidly shrinking away into the darkness.
“Let me handle this,” Idphor says, slashing at them with his Extension. “He’ll be trying to escape via some other means. Go on ahead and stop him before he does.”
“But…”
“Don’t think too lightly of me,” his eyes narrow menacingly. “After all, caverns and tunnels are the home of the bobbit worm.”
There’s no time for further argument. We veer off to the right, slipping past the guards. They reach out to stop us, only to be hammered by Idphor’s Extension. As I watch, one of the guards starts to morph, his flesh melting away into a shiny, shield-like material until all that’s left is a giant Amazonian ant, three metres tall, its vicious jaws gnashing loudly above its head. This is the first time I’ve seen a full transformation. It dwarfs Idphor easily. I can only gawk helplessly as we sprint down the tunnel. Undaunted, Idphor attacks it. That’s not the only thing he has to contend with. There are three more guards and six Heires. I bid a mental farewell to Idphor.
The convoluted passageways are especially confusing. Whitish-blue, hospital-like walls are adorned with grey steel pipes running along their length and long, tubular light bulbs drilled into their sides at intervals. Aside from wooden crates and storage containers, all of the passageways are roughly identical. If it weren’t for our enhanced senses, we would have gotten horribly lost in here. A vibration to my right. We turn a corner and there he is. The Captain. To his left, another passage veers off into the darkness, but he doesn’t run any more. Instead, he turns to face us, a nasty grin on his face. Raine attacks him without hesitation, her Extension extending towards his head at breakneck speed. At the last moment, centi
metres away from caving in his skull, it quivers to a halt. Something has caught it in mid-flight.
“My, my,” the Captain tuts. “Shall we talk?”
“No,” Raine snarls, sending another club in his direction.
The same thing happens. Then, something lumbers out from the passage on the Captain’s left. A Heire. As it staggers out into the dimly lit cavern, I get a closer look and my breath catches in my throat. Its face, although severely contorted, is hauntingly familiar. Around its wrist is an explosive bracelet. The Heire is Rick.
22
I’m rooted to the spot, gaping at the Heire before my very eyes. The Heire that used to be Rick. Even as my mind vehemently denies it, I know it’s true. April had been right all along. There was something strange about the Heires. This explains everything. Why they are shaped like humans. Why they can produce Extensions. Why they can regenerate Extensions but not body parts. They aren’t machines. They’re corpses. An army of corpses. I try to speak, but my words come out as a strangled, choking noise. The only thing left in doubt is Street 51.
“Rick?” April asks tentatively. “Are you…?”
The hope in her voice is heart-rending.
“He’s dead,” the Captain shrugs. “That’s just his corpse.”
Howling, April stabs at the Captain with her Extension. Her Extension comes to a halt, just like Raine’s. This time, however, I can see it clearly. Two spinnerets fixed on the Heire’s shoulder blades fire out a thin, web-like thread, which sticks to and restrains the offending Extension.
“Can we talk now?” the Captain suggests pleasantly.
No one replies.
“Excellent. Not to worry, it won’t hurt you,” he continues. “Not unless I command it to. So sit tight and listen.”
“Why the hell should we…” Raine begins.
“You see, the Hekatonkheires are controlled by a microchip embedded in their brains. That means that as corpses, they’ll rot away over time. Indeed, a truly disgusting but novel innovation,” he sneers, ignoring Raine. “Well, we did try it with the living, but they were unable to sustain that many Extensions for long. Street 51 is a good case study. The subject’s mental state became unstable after being shot multiple times and he lost control of his Extensions. That was when we turned to corpses.”