Mutant Rising

by Steve Feasey

  ‘What –’ Tia began.

  ‘Shhh,’ Juneau said, despite there being no soundtrack for her to disturb.

  After a few seconds the camera operator pulled back, widening the field of view so both the cage and the cylinder could be seen.

  Beside the cylinder was a small box of the same colour with a large red button on it. Taking this device in his hand, the man moved to one side to give an unobstructed view of the pen and the creatures inside it. Then, being very deliberate to show his actions, he pointed at the cylinder and pressed the red button.

  Nothing happened for a moment or two; the camera operator zoomed in a little, filling the view with the cage and its furry inhabitants.

  The grey creatures suddenly became more animated; sniffing at the air with their twitching noses, they began to run around the pen. Then, en masse, they started to back away from the paler rabbits. Within a few seconds they were jammed into the corners, pushing themselves up against the edges of the pen to get as far away from the others as they could. At the same time, the white rabbits began to shake. The movement was slight at first, but very quickly the tremors became increasingly violent. Two of them opened their mouths, and despite there being no sound, it was clear that the creatures were crying out in distress. One of the animals began to run around wildly, crashing headlong into the edges of the enclosure as if it was trying to break out. The blood came from their eyes first. Within moments it was leaking from every orifice, looking all the more ghastly against the pure white of their fur. Their pain and suffering was watched by the greys, and it was only a matter of seconds before the three injected rabbits, convulsing uncontrollably towards the end, became a mass of bloody gore and collapsed, dead.

  The camera zoomed out to reveal the man in the white coat again. He looked at the camera and simply nodded his head. The holo-image ended.

  Nobody said anything. One by one their attention shifted away from where the holo-image had been to the vis-unit with the image of the squid-like nanobots, complete with their blade-tipped tentacles.

  Juneau broke the silence. ‘So much for the theory that this stuff was being made for medical purposes. I couldn’t have been more wrong, could I?’

  ‘They’ve been injecting the inhabitants of Muteville with that stuff,’ Jax said. ‘The mutant population is being relocated to new reservations in the east. Part of the registration means allowing yourself to be “vaccinated” against disease. The authorities are pumping mutant veins full of these microscopic killing machines and –’

  ‘Oh no. No, no, no.’ It was Rush, and he was suddenly looking almost as pale as Jax. ‘Go back,’ he said. ‘Rewind the clip.’

  ‘I don’t want to watch that again,’ Tia said, her voice little more than a whisper. The marmoset monkey sitting on her shoulder must have picked up on her owner’s discomfort and gave a little screech of its own.

  ‘No, go back to the part where they show you that black cylinder. The thing the guy operated with the remote control.’

  The bioengineer waved his hand across the machine’s display until he got to the part Rush was talking about. He paused the holo-image.

  ‘What?’ Tia asked.

  ‘That. Whatever it is,’ Rush said, ‘I’ve seen one before.’

  ‘Where?’

  The young mutant seemed unable to speak. He reached out, his forefinger held level so that when he put it through the floating image, the black cylinder looked as if it was balancing on it.

  ‘Rush, where did you see it?’

  ‘On the back of a transporter – a massive one. It was when we did the first raid.’ He looked over at Jax. ‘Do you remember when I went up into the hills with my telescope to see if I could spot a vehicle we might be able to ambush? While I was up there I saw this big carrier in the distance. It was way off, but you could tell it was huge. The thing on the back was like that –’ he nodded at the frozen holo-image – ‘but much, much bigger.’

  ‘Where was it heading?’

  Incapable of taking his eyes from the thing on the screen, he frowned and gave a little shake of his head. ‘East. Over the Salt Basins and away from the rest of the cities. I didn’t think anything of it at the time; it was just a big black cylinder.’

  ‘That must be where they’re building this mutant reservation,’ Juneau said, thinking aloud. ‘Where the old City Six was.’

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘The former C6. The current C6 was once the seventh city.’

  ‘I thought there were only six Arks.’

  ‘No. The story goes that the former sixth city was responsible for a lot of hush-hush research, and because of this it was deliberately removed from the other metropolises. It seems they were looking into a new form of energy production when something went wrong. There was a total meltdown and the place became a ghost town overnight. The authorities denied everything of course, but pretty soon they just shut the gates and seven became six. But …’ he said, opening a drawer and rummaging around until he came out with a number of large rolled-up maps. Selecting the one he was looking for, he spread it out on a table for the others to gather round. The map showed the landscape containing the Six Cities and the connections between them. Holding it down with two hands, he gestured with a third. ‘… I’m guessing this is still in operation.’ Juneau was pointing at two perfectly straight dotted lines, close together, stretching out from the area marked as ‘C4’.

  ‘What is it?’ Tia asked.

  ‘A tunnel. It goes right under the Salt Basins in the direction your telekinetic friend here saw that carrier heading. Unless I’m very much mistaken, folks, that there –’ he tapped at the map – ‘is how our twisted President Melk is going to transport his mutant deportees. Right before he wipes them out.’

  Rush closed his eyes, but all that was waiting for him was the image of the blood-soaked rabbits, their mouths open in a silent scream. That, and the memory of that giant cylinder disappearing off into the distance. Melk had to be stopped. Whatever it took, the lunatic couldn’t be allowed to carry out his diabolical plans.

  ‘We have to get to that tunnel and see if there’s any way we can stop the transportation going ahead,’ Jax said. He turned to Juneau. ‘Thank you for your help, and I’m sorry I doubted you. I should have known to trust Tia’s judgement. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about what you have seen and heard here today.’

  ‘You don’t have to worry about me talking, but if you think I’m done with all this, you’re seriously mistaken. I’m going to continue working on things from here.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘This involves me every bit as much as it does you. Now, I mightn’t have any magic tricks like you and your friend here –’ he nodded at Rush – ‘but I’m damned if I’ll stand by and watch my people get wiped out. I’m smart. Not street-smart like Tia here, but I understand technology and how things work. Maybe I can figure out how to stop Melk’s murderous little machines.’

  ‘You could get caught, Juneau,’ Tia pointed out. ‘If that happens, you might not get to spend that fifty thousand credits I had my friend transfer into your account.’

  ‘If everyone else is dead, there isn’t going to be anywhere to spend it, is there?’

  The three outlaws looked at each other for a moment. Although none of them spoke, it was clear that they were in agreement about Juneau’s proposal. The bioengineer picked up on the silent exchange too. ‘That’s agreed then. I’ll do what I can to figure out how these things are activated.’ He glanced from Tia to the monkey that had now taken up position at the other side of the room. ‘I’m guessing the presence of our simian friend here means you want your old identity back?’

  ‘That would be useful. We also need to ask you a favour. We’d like you to look after some things for us while we’re gone.’

  ‘Things?’

  ‘Buffy for one.’ Tia nodded at the marmoset.

  ‘And Dotty,’ Rush added.

  ‘What is this, a petting zoo?’ The
bioengineer shook his head in dismay, but it was clear he was going to agree. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘OK. Then let’s get your chip out of the monkey and back where it belongs. Won’t take me too long to do.’ He gestured for her to follow him, but they were both stopped in their tracks by Jax, who gasped, his hand going up to his head as if he was in pain.

  ‘What?’ Rush asked.

  ‘It’s Silas. I can’t …’ He placed a finger to his temple, a look of dread writ large on his features. ‘I can’t feel him any more!’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Ever since I was a small child, I’ve always been able to sense his presence. Nothing big, no details, just some kind of link that’s existed between us. But he’s just … not there.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ With each question he asked, Rush felt himself fill with fear at what the answers might be.

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe … nothing?’ Jax replied, but his expression suggested otherwise. ‘I have to go back and find out what’s happened.’

  ‘Brick and Flea are there too,’ Rush said in a small voice. ‘And Anya must have returned by now.’ He felt sick. Something must have happened for Jax, who was usually so rational, to be having this reaction. What if Melk had found them? Or a drone had spotted them and another ARM unit had descended on his friends?

  ‘Should we come with you?’ Tia asked.

  They were all thinking the same thing: the more they spilt up, the weaker they became. Despite his rising panic, it was Rush who finally broke the silence. Despite his love of the team members they’d left back at their base, he couldn’t leave the mutant population of City Four to its fate. Not even for the sake of friendship. ‘OK, you go and find them, Jax. Make sure they’re safe. I need to stay here and work out how to stop Melk.’ He looked cautiously at Tia. In the relatively short time she’d known Flea, the two had become like sisters. ‘It’s up to you whether you stay or go – there’s no right answer.’

  She looked straight back at him. ‘I’ll stay with you and Juneau. Jax will find the others and bring them back here.’

  Jax was already at the door. He stopped briefly, turning to give each of them a curt nod. ‘Stay safe,’ he said. ‘I’ll find you when I’ve got the others.’

  Tia and Rush

  They sat beside each other outside a small shop in the slums. The man who served them their sweet tea drinks had declared they were made from filtered water, but the slightly sulphurous aftertaste made them doubt the veracity of this. It was late in the day, and the market in the square was packing up, the traders laughing and joking with each other as they put away their wares and secured their stalls. Despite the noise, the two teenagers seemed largely oblivious to the hustle and bustle going on all around them.

  ‘You’ll be on your own,’ Tia said, tracing the edge of the cup with her finger. The effects of the painkiller Juneau had given her were beginning to kick in. A second operation in almost as many days had left her leg sore, but at least her original CivisChip was back in place.

  ‘Hardly.’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘There’s no other way. I have to try and stop that underground train or, failing that, get inside this camp of Melk’s and see if there’s anything I can do there. The only way I can do either of those things is to register as a resettler.’

  ‘And what do you really think you can do then, hmm?’

  ‘I have no idea. But I can’t just stand by and do nothing.’

  ‘You’ll be injected with those things.’

  Rush looked about him. From what he understood, he doubted there was anyone in the market square who’d not already signed up for Melk’s semi-enforced relocation. Every Mute here had already been ‘inoculated’. The difference was that they were all blissfully unaware of what had actually been done to them.

  ‘Then we’ll have to find a way to stop them being activated, won’t we?’

  Lost in her thoughts, Tia lifted the cup and took another sip before hastily pushing it away from her again. She took a deep breath. ‘I … I care about you,’ she said, the words coming out too quickly, and not at all how she’d wanted them to.

  ‘I care about you too, Tia.’

  ‘When I say I care about you … I mean … a lot.’ She couldn’t help but blush, and it was this, not her words, that finally revealed to Rush what she was trying to say.

  ‘Oh. Er …’

  ‘I’m sorry. I know it’s the wrong time for us to be talking about this, but I just wanted you to –’

  ‘No, no. Don’t apologise, please. I, er, well, I like you too – a lot.’ He reached out to grab her hand, almost knocking the cup over, his clumsiness making them both laugh and relieving some of the awkward tension that had built up.

  ‘It’s not just me who is going into the lion’s den,’ he pointed out. ‘You’ll be putting yourself in danger the moment you set foot inside that wall again. Melk will be forced to try to keep you quiet.’

  ‘I have one or two surprises up my sleeve yet for our beloved president.’

  He looked at her quizzically, but she just smiled, not willing to reveal what she was alluding to.

  Across the market square an ancient clock, maybe a relic from before the Last War, rang out the hour, the bell sounding tired and muffled.

  ‘Well,’ he said, getting to his feet, ‘I’d better get going. Don’t want to miss my chance to register and get my injection of microscopic killbots, do I?’

  Tia stood too, her chair making a loud rasping noise on the ground.

  ‘Bye,’ he said.

  ‘Bye.’

  Rush gawkily proffered his hand as if to shake hers, and was completely taken aback when, ignoring it, she stepped forward and kissed him.

  It was the first time he’d ever been kissed by a girl.

  He breathed her in, closing his eyes and relishing the feeling of her soft lips on his own. His heart did a weird thing inside his chest: stuttering momentarily, as if it too was shocked by the kiss, and then speeding up to a heavy and thumping rhythm that made his head swim. And then it was over. He opened his eyes, noting how she did the same thing at precisely the same time, and they simply stared at each other. It was like looking into her soul, and he knew this brief moment had changed everything forever.

  ‘That was nice,’ she said.

  ‘Mmmm.’

  She smiled, and the moment was broken. She reached out and touched his hand briefly with the tips of her fingers. Then she frowned, realising something. ‘I don’t know your last name.’

  He shook his head. ‘Neither do I. The terrible thing is, I guess it must be the same as the man responsible for giving me life. If that’s true, I think I’d rather not have one.’

  ‘Be careful, Rush.’

  ‘You too, Tia.’

  They parted then, going their separate ways. It struck Rush as he walked away that he might never see her again, if it all went wrong. But he couldn’t turn back. He was going to be relocated with the rest of the inhabitants of Muteville. Relocated in a place where a deadly black cylinder was waiting to deal out death to the mutant population.

  Anya

  She flew high despite the cold, a part of her relishing the pain that the near freezing temperatures caused in her extremities. She welcomed the solitude that flying at such heights afforded her. The cold and the aloneness matched her mood. Her anger with the others at their mistreatment of her had grown, and with it so had the realisation that she was no longer one of them. They didn’t want her around. They had made that quite clear that last time they’d all been together. Jax and Rush were the chosen ones. Oh, and Tia – Tia, a rich little brat who wasn’t even a mutant, never mind a hybrid like the rest of them! They were Silas’s favourites.

  Screw them, she thought. She didn’t need them, any of them.

  Anya swooped down low before catching a thermal thrown up from the range of hills stretching far below. Carried effortlessly o
n the air, she scanned the landscape. She was close.

  Although she had made up her mind that she wanted no part of their stupid little gang, she was damned if she was going to let them get away with how they had treated her. Her plan might be a petty one, but it was better than nothing.

  Away to her left, looking like an ugly scar on the landscape, she spotted the dead city. A smile formed on her face, the mouth of the serpent head stretching wide to reveal the black fangs within.

  She frowned as she swooped down out of the night sky. They appeared to have set guards. There was somebody not far from the entrance to the right of her, and she wondered what had happened to make the group start posting lookouts. Stranger still was the fact that the sentry, far from being discreetly hidden, had made a fire, announcing their presence to anyone approaching the area. Maybe they had been posted to keep an eye out for her, but she doubted that. They’d probably said good riddance to her leaving.

  She landed almost silently, her leathery wings beating downwards at the last moment to stall her in the air before she dropped the last metre or so and alighted, legs bent to soften the sound further. Even so, she glanced over at the sitting figure to check they hadn’t been alerted to her presence. Closer now, she recognised the silhouette – it wasn’t difficult, only one person here looked like that. Slumped forward at the edge of the fire was the big dummy, Brick. Something, some things, were on the ground near to him and for a moment she thought they might be sleeping figures. But that was silly. Why would they be sleeping out here? Unless something had happened to their little underground hideout …