Armageddon Hyde in The Chosen and the Damned

by Joseph Terra Jr

  "Mine too," Hellfire said. "All right - leave the family inside. I'll go left, you go right."

  "All right."

  Todd, in the truck, wound down the window crack. "What are you two doing?" he hissed. "You can't fight them all - these are Guerrero's best troops! Some of them even look sober! You'll be cut to pieces..."

  "That may be the case, Brother Todd," Hellfire said. "If we are cut to pieces, then I suggest you surrender... and come out very, very slowly. If you can stall for long enough, then maybe the plant will blow before they manage to drag you back into town."

  Todd looked pale and scared. "Hellfire... this can't be the way."

  "I'm sorry, Brother Todd," Hellfire said. "But like the book says, there is a time for peace and a time for war."

  "It's the other way around, you idiot," Armageddon muttered.

  She whipped out her .357, running right as she did so.

  "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME," the sergeant said. "OKAY, FINE. SHOOT THESE ASSHOLES!"

  She got off three quick shots, one directly over the sergeant's head, and then dived behind the corner of the truck. The soldiers fired back, and the girls squealed as bullets flew around them. Only a couple hit the truck, cracking against the upper windshield, leaving fist-size starbursts on the glass. There was a brilliant flash from her left as Price opened fire, and a sunburst of light exploded above the soldiers like the wrath of God. Armageddon turned her head, wincing; she could only imagine what it must be like up close. She jammed more bullets into the cylinder, rose, and fired again. One of her shots ricocheted off the water tank, but did not breach its armor. If we could just pop that, somehow...

  "Hellfire!" she shouted. "We have to find a way to destroy the tank!"

  "But we'd need explosives to do that! We can't do it!"

  Armageddon gave a snort of frustration and crawled to the side of her truck. Hellfire fired off two more of his blinding rounds, sending more of the soldiers reeling. Most of them had stopped shooting, at least for the moment, but none of them were out of the fight - even now, Armageddon could see them setting themselves to fire again.

  "Violet!" she shouted. "Can you hear me?"

  "I hear you!" Violet shouted shrilly. "What the hell are you doing?"

  "Do you have anything explosive in your kit? Something that could take out that tank?"

  "Are you fucking kidding me?" Violet shrieked.

  "I'll take that as a no," Armageddon muttered. She popped her head up and fired off another burst, forcing the soldiers to take cover. But we can't hold them for long, she thought. Stoned as they might be, there were too many of them...

  She squinted along the line, and her eyes widened as they alighted on a particular soldier. The man had been caught in the second flare, and had dropped his gun, but now he was getting slowly to his feet and stumbling away from the battle. Her eyes went to his belt. Is that what I think it is?

  "Cover me!" she shouted. "Hellfire! Do it now!"

  Hellfire obediently fired off two more flares, and she ran for the side of the road and raced behind the rocky outcropping from which the soldiers had emerged. The flares were slowing the men down, but they were less effective without the element of surprise. A handful of the soldiers had donned goggles, and these ones hardly seemed to be affected at all. Armageddon circled around the rock; she saw her target stumbling behind one of the jeeps. There was a brief pause, and then Hellfire fired again: gas rounds this time. One slammed into the jeep, emitting a cloud of green smoke that the soldiers stumbled away from.

  "SQUIRT THAT FUCKER!" the sergeant yelled. "HE'S STARTING TO PISS ME OFF!"

  The tank's nozzle turned slightly and it emitted a spray of clear, sweet-smelling liquid that made it about halfway to Hellfire's truck. Armageddon ran for the jeep. The soldier was stumbling her way, and as she bore down on him he looked up, seeing her for the first time. Armageddon's fist caught him directly on the chin and knocked him cold. She rolled his still form over on its side and pulled the grenade from his belt.

  How do these things work? she thought. You have to pull the pin, right?

  "GET CLOSER!" the sergeant shouted. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE BREAKING THE FUCKING LINE. AND THE REST OF YOU ASSHOLES LEARN TO SHOOT!"

  Armageddon scurried back behind the rock, racing around to the other side. The tank rolled slowly forward, its nozzle turning, though it had yet to fire a second time. This is bad, she thought. If they drug Hellfire, he's done - and that means we're done too. I can't take them all on my own. Worse yet, hiding behind the truck would give Price no cover at all from a spray of drugs. But if he broke cover and tried to run, he would be naked to the soldiers' guns...

  "THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH!" the sergeant said. "GET HIM!"

  The nozzle swiveled towards Hellfire's position. He popped up, holding what appeared to be a rather tiny gun, and fired. Armageddon winced and shielded her eyes as a flare exploded directly in front of the tank's window slit. A second flare flew directly at the Sergeant, blowing part in a burst of white light and causing him to tumble back off his jeep. Armageddon broke from cover and raced towards the tank...

  The sergeant found his feet. "FIRE!" he bellowed. "FIRE, GODDAMN IT! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!"

  Armageddon reached the tank, scrambled onto the front, and then pulled the pin and shoved the grenade down the spout of the water cannon. She fell back, landing on her rump in an ungainly sprawl, and then scrambled to her feet and ran.

  "FIRE THE GODDAMN CANNON!" the sergeant howled. "I SAID - "

  There was a thudding explosion behind her. The tank blew, hurling clear, sweet-smelling liquid in every direction. It smells like flowers, Armageddon thought. So pretty...

  She woke in the back of her truck, with her head in Violet's lap.

  "I CAN TOO DRIVE!" Cherry was yelling. "Better than you, you nerd! Stop yelling at me!"

  Violet drew in a deep breath. "STOP CALLING ME - " she started to say. She stopped, looking down at Armageddon. "Oh," she said. "You're awake. Are you okay?"

  "What happened?" Armageddon muttered.

  "You got dosed a little bit," Violet said. "You were at the very edge of the blast. You were kind of out of it, but we managed to get you in the truck and drive off." She giggled. "Those soldiers were chonged out of their minds..."

  "Oh, real nice," Cherry muttered. "Real charming, Violet."

  Armageddon sat up, groaning. "Where are we?" She said.

  "Driving to the top of the hill," Violet said. "We're almost out of time, but Hellfire thinks we should be safe if we can get high enough."

  Armageddon hauled herself up and looked at the clock on the dash. It read 2:01 p.m.

  "Can I get a goddamn coffee here?" Todd's wife demanded.

  The others ignored her as the seconds ticked by. "So when's it supposed to happen?" Violet asked softly.

  "I was told about two o'clock," Armageddon said. "But he didn't say exactly - "

  There was a flare of light, bright and silent, from the city below. Violet and Armageddon turned to stare out the back window. The truck swerved slightly as Cherry tried to look too and then remembered she was driving. An enormous, fiery mushroom cloud billowed up from the heart of Buttfuk. The sound reached them moments later, like a clap of thunder. The truck shook slightly as a shock wave hit them.

  "Oh my god," Cherry exclaimed. "What is that?"

  "Something blew," Violet said. "Jesus, it's like a fucking bomb hit the place." She turned to stare at Armageddon. "How did you know?"

  "Wait," Armageddon murmured. "There's something else happening."

  Ahead, Hellfire's rounded a sharp turn, and both trucks were forced to slow. As they rounded the bend, the city of Buttfuk came into full view below them. As the fire from the explosion belched up into the sky and disappeared, a great gray cloud rolled out from the blast site at shocking speed, racing out across the town, engulfing block after block.

  "What is that?" Armageddon asked. "Is that... smoke?"

  "Not smoke," Violet said.
"It's a gas cloud. Shit - at this rate, it's going to engulf the whole city."

  "Ohmygod," Cherry said. "Are we clear? Are we clear?"

  "I don't know," Violet said. "It's moving fast..." She turned to the front of the truck and yelled: "Step on it, Hellfire!"

  But even if Hellfire could have heard her, there was little he could have done. The tight turn had slowed his truck to a crawl, and now, ahead of them, the road rose steeply. The truck picked up speed as it started to climb, but slowly...

  Armageddon turned, and saw the cloud - whatever it was - rolling up the hill. It was slowing too, and she thought it was starting to break up a little, but it was still coming. "Stay right on his bumper," she told Cherry. "Every inch is going to count here. Drive!"

  Cherry obediently stepped on the accelerator, rolling as close to Hellfire's truck as she could get. The cloud billowed up behind them.

  "Are we gonna make it?" Violet asked quietly.

  "I don't know," Armageddon said. "It's going to be close." She shook her head, eyes on the cloud. "You're right - it's not smoke, it's gas. But what on earth is it?"

  Cherry glanced up at the rear view mirror and shrieked. "OHMYGOD IT'S A GIANT CLOUD OF DRUGS!"

  "That's ridiculous," Violet snorted. "It's probably just some random chemical crap - "

  But she never finished the thought. At the words giant cloud of drugs, Todd's wife had quickly and quietly unbuckled her seat belt. Now, as the truck labored on up the hill, she opened the door and slipped out with the speed and agility of a gymnast. She hit the ground rolling, her necklace bursting and showering pearls in all directions, and then came smoothly to her feet. Cherry stepped on the brakes, even as Armageddon yelled, "Don't stop! We're not safe yet!".

  "Go Go GO!" Violet yelled.

  Cherry stepped on the gas, and the truck continued up the hill, the unlatched side door swinging. Todd's wife hit the edge of the cloud running, arms outstretched, and Armageddon swore she saw a shudder of ecstasy run through her. The woman took one step - and then one more - and then grew still. She stood there like a rock, arms outstretched, and Armageddon saw her body stiffen as the transformation completed itself. In the fading light, her body glimmered like crystals...

  Epilogue

  The Chosen and the Damned

  "Well," Todd said, glancing around. "This isn't so bad - as caves go..." He tried on a smile, a ghost of his old aw-shucks grin. It slid off his face a few moments later.

  "Yeah," Violet muttered. "Best cave ever." She shuffled over to a flat spot on the wall and sat, staring down at her shoes.

  The rest of them looked just as despondent, each in their own way. Even Hellfire looked sad and tired as he stood at the mouth of the cave, watching the storm outside. The clouds had rolled in before the drug cloud had even begun to clear, the drop in air pressure signaling a hard rain to come. They needed somewhere to stay, but there were no more motels in these parts: the war had shut them all down. And so now, two hours later, here they were.

  "I'm going to ask you something," Armageddon said, staring out into the rain. "I want you to tell me the truth."

  Hellfire looked at her silently.

  "You owe me, you know," she said. "I saved your life back there."

  "I'm pretty sure I saved yours too," Hellfire said. "I'm pretty sure we'd each be dead without the other. But ask away, cousin. I'll answer as best I can."

  "That cloud," Armageddon said, "if it really was made of... whatever you were making down there... what happens to the people it touches?"

  Hellfire was silent a moment. "They have a very short, very intense psychedelic experience," he said, "which will ultimately rage out of control and... and consume them. In the factory they'd be given an inhibitor, which would arrest the process before the end. But now..." He shrugged. "No more inhibitor," he said sadly.

  Armageddon nodded. "Right. No more inhibitor. And by the looks of it, no more of your precious drug either, cousin. Looks like it's all going to be washed away."

  Hellfire looked at her bleakly for a few moments, but said nothing. His eyes slid past her to where Todd was laying out the sleeping bags. "Todd," he said, "don't set up there. Put them along the back wall - there'll be less chance of water reaching them during the night."

  "Okay, Mr Price," Todd said. "I'll get right on it..." He gathered up the first bag and then stood, staring distractedly into space. "Mr Price?"

  "Yes, Todd?"

  "Any chance of... is there any chance of any survivors down there?"

  Hellfire sighed. "I don't think so, Todd. I'm not much of a one for the technical details, but the people at Werner/Roberts were clear on that much. Without the inhibitor..." He shook his head. "I don't think so," he finished lamely.

  "Right," Todd said, sounding almost cheerful. "Yeah... I thought so. Well, I had to ask, right?" He stood there, looking rather lost. "So... is there a chance we can go back to the house one day? I'd really like to..." He trailed off again, looking at them blankly.

  Violet picked herself and walked over to him. "Dad - let me take care of the bags, okay? Just sit down for a while. I think you might be in shock."

  "If you say so, sweetie," Todd said. He allowed Violet to lead him to the far wall, where she sat him down on a bundled-up blanket. "My boys," he sighed. "Oh Lord, my boys are gone. Both my boys."

  Violet breathed a short, irritated sigh. "Dillon was never your boy, Dad. Dillon was a sociopath who lived in your house and ate your food and didn't even pay rent. The worst thing I ever did was let you talk me into marrying that asshole." She paused, then went on, a little softer than before. "I am sorry about Josh, though. I should have tried harder to make him leave. I was... I was just so mad at him, you know? And I guess a part of me didn't really think..."

  "No - you didn't really think something would happen," Todd snapped. "Despite all the warnings, you thought you knew better. Like the good little scientist you are." He came to his feet, suddenly furious. "This - this is where your science has gotten us! That's what Werner/Roberts were! A bunch of scientists!" his voice rose to a shout. "And you will never, ever work in one of those places, Missy, as God is my witness!"

  "Dad!" Violet gasped. She backed away, staring at Todd in dismay. He went on, shaking and red-faced. "I should never have given you access to those books," he panted. "Those tools - those potions - I might as well just have let you dabble in witchcraft! I should have known better. I should've - "

  "Todd," Armageddon said quietly, "we can't do this now. We have to figure out what to do next - where we're going to go when the storm breaks."

  Todd sneered at her. "Oh, I'm sure you and Mr Price will figure something out," he said. "I mean, you've done a great job so far, right? Saved my family, saved my home... oh no! Wait! You saved forty per cent of my family and none of my home! And you know what, Miss Armageddon? It's been a while since I was in grade school, but last time I checked forty per cent was a failing grade!" He turned his back on her, then went to sit on his blanket facing cave the wall. As Armageddon stared at him, wondering what to say next, Cherry went and sat next to him.

  "I'm sorry, Mr Field," she said. She put an arm carefully around his shoulders, and after a moment Todd leaned into her and closed his eyes. Violet stared down at the two of them for a moment, then turned abruptly and walked away.

  An hour later it was starting to get dark. The rain seemed to have eased off a little, but Armageddon thought it would go on for a while yet. Todd had come out of his shell a little, and at some point had shuffled over to offer her a rather shamefaced apology. Armageddon accepted the apology, though by now she was starting to question if Todd really had anything to apologize for. After all, forty per cent was a pretty lousy grade.

  Near the center of the cave, Cherry had pulled several bags of food together and set them down next to the portable stove. "You need a hand with that, Cherry?" Armageddon asked.

  Cherry pulled out a box of matches. "No thanks, Auntie, I'm okay." She saw the look on Armageddon's fa
ce and then reconsidered. "Wait, actually - could you butter some of that bread? It's not really butter - it's margarine - but you know..."

  "Of course. Happy to help." Armageddon pulled out the bread, glancing around at the others as she did so: Todd was dozing in a corner, while Violet and Hellfire were both moping about near the cave entrance, neither one talking to the other. She turned to Cherry and lowered her voice. "We really do need to think about what to do next, you know. We can't go back to Todd's house any time soon, even once the storm clears. The place will be flooded, there'll be looters - "

  "I know that, Aunt Amy," Cherry sighed. "Sheesh, you don't have to explain everything to me like I'm a child. So what's the plan?"

  Armageddon blushed a little, but went on. "I want to take you home, Cherry. You, and Todd - and Violet, too, if she's willing." She hurried on. "Not to stay, necessarily - I mean, not if you don't want to. But the church can look after you all until you find your feet..."

  "Except Hellfire," Cherry said. "Right?"

  No Uncle Heck, Armageddon noted. "Hellfire will go back to his own people, no doubt," she said coolly. "That's only proper, don't you think?"

  "I suppose it is." Cherry shot a chilly look at Hellfire's back. "I really don't want to move back in with my parents, Aunt Amy," she sighed. "I'm past that, now."

  "Well - maybe you won't have to move in with them. But you will have to see them if we go home. You know that, don't you?"

  "I know, I know," Cherry muttered. "Look - I have to think about this, okay? I'm pretty sure Mr Field will go wherever we ask him to - but I really don't know about her."

  She glanced over at Violet, who had moved over to join Hellfire at the mouth of the cave. The two of them were talking softly, staring out into the dark. Armageddon regarded them a moment, then slowly rose to her feet. "I'll be with you in just a moment, Cherry," she murmured.

  The rain was still heavy enough to cover the sound of her footfalls, and she was able to get quite close to Violet and Hellfire without being noticed. Hellfire appeared to be doing most of the talking. The name Peterson was mentioned, but the rest was lost in the howl of the storm. Armageddon frowned and edged closer still, straining her ears. "... sounds pretty dangerous," Violet said. "Even after the rain, it could still be toxic down there."