Vibrations. Deep in her chest. Pulling her, drawing her.
Mercy’s eyes snapped open. She sat up, the blanket Rose had thrown over her slid off. Rose lay asleep in the corner, a bottle of liquor on the floor beside her. Mercy’s memory returned, turning her world from black and white to colour. She brought a hand to her chest, feeling for a wound, a source of the pain.
Nothing. It was just a nightmare, a bad dream—
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Three pulses, deep and visceral, punched through the room. Fragments of plaster fell to the faded carpet. Rose groaned, turning over in her sleep,
What the hell is that noise? Some kind of sonic weapon—?
Mercy went to the nearest window and looked out at the ruined building opposite. A line of graffiti caught her eye: FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH. Someone had crossed out “SIN” and written “THE NSA” underneath.
That about sums it up. Wonder what happened to you—?
The street was empty. The pain eased in her chest, she pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window and closed her eyes.
It’s just my imagination, we’re frazzled, wasted, washed out—
Rose’s groggy voice broke the silence, “Did you feel it too? What was that drumming sound? Some kind of voodoo shit?”
Mercy stepped back from the window.
Careless, never show yourself at a window. Stupid, stupid, stupid—
“Yeah, Rose it woke me. So you felt it too? It’s stopped now, some sort of NSA device, we’re on the edge of their stronghold. No doubt we’ll find out soon—”
Rose pulled a face. “There’s dry clothes, in there.” She pointed to a bedroom down the hall. “Shoes, boots, they’re men’s clothes but I reckon they’ll fit you. I got me some stuff earlier,” she patted the new jacket she was wearing.
Mercy nodded, “Anything to eat?”
“Some pasta in the kitchen. Had me a mouthful but it’s hard going—” Rose rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head.
Mercy went to the bedroom and selected some clothes. She chose a pair of men’s hiking trousers and hitched them up with a studded leather belt. A black hoodie and leather jacket completed her haul. A black box caught her eye at the back of the wardrobe, she opened it and raised her eyebrows. She picked up the HD binoculars and let out a low whistle of appreciation.
This’ll come in useful—
Mercy returned to the kitchen and ate some dry pasta washed down by vodka from the drinks cabinet in the front room. She winced as the spirit burned the back of her throat. She went to the bathroom and lifted the cistern lid off the toilet. A few inches of rusty brown water occupied the cistern.
No way. Vodka now, water later—
She took another swig of vodka and returned to the couch. Rose was snoring softly in the corner. Mercy checked her watch; 1:37pm.
Right idea Rose, right idea—
Mercy lay down, clutching the binoculars. She closed her eyes.
Mercy woke three hours later, her mouth dry, her head throbbing.
Water—
Rose was sitting cross legged on the floor, reassembling the M16. “Cleaned our weapons as best I could, that river water had a lot of silt in it. They should be OK now. We need to get some—”
“Water—” Mercy finished for her. She sat up and covered her eyes with a hand.
“You took the word right out of my mouth,” Rose answered.
Mercy frowned, “Barnes said if ever we were separated big time… we should meet up here in DC didn’t he—?”
“He sure did; Stanton Park, intersection of Maryland and Massachusetts Avenues. I memorized it. I’ve an idea where it is… from the map. Do you think he’s still alive?” Rose asked.
“I don’t know Rose. No proof of life, no proof of death—”
Rose grunted, “Guess we need to check it out, even if it’s a long shot—”
Mercy looked up, “That’s good Rose, very dry. Him being a sniper and all—”
“Water first, then Barnes,” Rose handed Mercy the M16.
They left the building by the fire escape and made their way further into the city. They emerged onto North Carolina Avenue and picked their way over the broken road and past the collapsed buildings.
Jesus, the destruction in this part of town is pretty bad. Some of it looks recent. Maybe F-35 strikes by the Resistance? Guess the NSA had surface-to-air missiles on some of these rooftops, that would explain why the neighbourhood’s been hit—
A tripping sound. Rose cursed. Mercy turned to see Rose staring back, up the avenue.
“What is it Rose?”
Rose shrugged, “Probably nothing… thought I saw something behind us. Movement. Just on the edge of my vision, then when I look at the exact spot it’s gone. It’s happened a few times—”
No such thing as coincidence—
“We’ll check it out,” Mercy swivelled around. A modern residential complex lay off to the right. “Come on.” Mercy ducked under the trees and disappeared around the corner.
They crouched low behind rampant wisteria at the side of the building. They watched the street. Five minutes later Rose gripped Mercy’s arm and pointed to a rusting SUV on the other side of the road. Trope feet were visible under the vehicle. Mercy glanced right, two more tropes were closing in from a narrow footpath between two nearby buildings.
Dammit, it’s alphas, a pack of them, they look feral—
The fire escape above them grated as something heavy landed on it.
Shit, they know we’re here—
A high pitched scream came from above. Recognition surged through Mercy, she looked up.
It’s her, that bitch from the Naval Academy… and her pack. They’ve tracked us, all this way—
Two figures dropped to the ground from the bomb damaged building twenty yards away.
There’s at least six of them—
Rose pulled at Mercy’s shoulder, “In here, follow me.”
Mercy turned to see Rose disappear through a ground floor window, half hidden by the wisteria. Mercy jumped up and flung herself through the window. She landed hard on the wood floor. A noise came from outside. Mercy rolled, holding the M16 close to her body. Too late. An alpha was through the window in a flash, she just had time to pull the rifle across her chest to block its attack.
A second alpha burst through the window and landed on the bedroom floor. Gunfire erupted across the room and the alpha spun with the impact of two .45 rounds. Mercy pushed her rifle against the first alpha which was snapping at her throat.
Shit, I can’t shoot it—
Screaming at the window. Two more pistol shots rang out from the bathroom. The alpha pinning Mercy wrestled with the rifle and rammed it against her neck.
It’s trying to strangle me—
Mercy felt her strength draining as the M16 compressed her throat. She locked eyes with the alpha. It licked its blue lips and let out a low moan. It lowered its head for the final strike. Mercy closed her eyes, turning her face away from her attacker. She screamed and pushed back. The pressure above stopped. The alpha slid to one side, the tip of a knife blade protruding from its forehead.
Rose appeared behind the dead alpha. “Sorry it took so long. I was… occupied—”
Mercy recovered and pointed her rifle at the window, “We can shoot them as they come through the window—”
Rose crouched beside Mercy, her HK45 pistol raised. “Wait, what’s that—?”
A rhythmic, thumping sound reached them from outside. Deep booms filled the air. Mercy’s chest ached. Rose staggered as if physically hit.
“It’s that noise again. And …. a helicopter. It’s the NSA,” Mercy shouted.
A high pitched screech echoed from the street and running shapes passed the window. The fire escape creaked a few times then went silent.
“The alphas are bailing—” Rose said.
“Come on, let’s get away from here, we need to see what’s going on—” Mercy made for the door.
They found the internal stairs and climbed up to the fourth floor. Rose pointed at the roof access stairs. Mercy nodded and continued up. The booming penetrated the building. Mercy opened the roof door and peered out.
Clear—
She stepped onto the flat roof and ran over to the edge, staring out at the cityscape in front of her.
“What the hell is that?” Rose gasped.
Mercy frowned, recalling details of the map she had memorised, “That’s… Lincoln Park—”
A huge seething mass of tropes filled the open space, a quarter of a mile away. A large tower stood at the centre of the crowd, the booming sound emanating from somewhere within.
There must be tens of thousands of tropes there. They’re all… circling that tower—
More tropes were converging on the park from all directions, filling the streets.
“The sound, it’s attracting them—” Rose said.
Mercy’s eyes went to the giant V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor aircraft hovering over Lincoln Park. She pressed the binoculars to her eyes.
What are they doing—?
Mercy watched as two NSA soldiers leaned out of the Osprey’s side door, aiming a device at the crowd. A bolt shot from the device into the throng below.
A harpoon—?
The Osprey held its position as the harpoon device plucked a large trope from the undead crowd.
“It’s an alpha, they’re selecting feral alphas—” Mercy spoke, her words falling flat against the noise in the distance.
The harpooned alpha rose through the air beneath the Osprey. It hung writhing, suspended by a cable under the aircraft. The soldiers winched it to the side door. Once its head reached the opening one of the NSA men pressed something against its head. The alpha jerked and went limp, dangling like a rag doll. The two NSA men used poles to loop a body bag over the unmoving corpse. The Osprey then moved towards the tower and dropped the body bag onto the top.
Mercy’s eyes narrowed, she focused on the top of the tower. “Look, there’s more body bags up there, must be about fifty of them.” She handed Rose the HD binoculars.
“They’re selecting prime specimens, they’re… harvesting them—” Rose said, her voice taut.
“What the hell for—?” Mercy said.
The Osprey pulled away from the tower and began circling the crowd again.
“Look at the bags,” Rose pointed.
The body bags at the centre of the platform began to sink below the others, then disappeared as more slipped down to cover them.
“It’s a funnel, they’re being sucked down—” Mercy said.
“The tower’s a chute, they’re dropping down… underground—” Rose whispered.
“Maybe there’s some kind of processing facility under there.” Mercy took the binoculars back.
“The NSA are putting a lot of effort into this shit, it’s obviously important to them,” Rose added.
A screech of brakes made Mercy look down into the street. Two armoured personnel carriers had pulled up near the building. NSA troops began spilling out of the vehicles.
“Shit Rose, we’ve got company—” Mercy said.
“Our scrap with those alphas must have been noticed—” Rose replied. She stood up and ran to the far side of the roof.
Mercy looked around.
Where is it? Where’s the way out—?
The troops were cordoning off the building. A squad disappeared in through the ground floor.
Come on. Find it, we’ve got less than a minute—
Rose beckoned to Mercy, “Over here—”
Mercy ran to her friend and stared at a glass swimming pool joining their building to the next one. The pool was full of mud-coloured water. Leaves and debris floated on the surface.
“You’ve got to be kidding me? A pool between two buildings?” Mercy said, disbelief in her voice.
“I’ve seen one before, back in New York. It’s our ticket out of here—” Rose said, jumping in.
“Christ—”
Mercy jumped in after Rose. The water was cold, the smell of decay filled her nostrils. She sank beneath the surface and closed her eyes, some of the water entered her mouth. She shot to the surface and struck out for the far side.
Rose was a few feet ahead and reached the other end of the pool first. Mercy touched the lip of the pool and threw her M16 over the side. Rose was hauling herself out of the water when she made a grunting noise.
Mercy pulled herself out, her face and hair coated with a slimy sheen. She glanced back to see Rose disappear under the surface of the water, a bony hand around her neck.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck—” Mercy grabbed the M16 and poked it into the water, trying to see any movement.
Bubbles burst through the surface beside the rifle barrel. Rose’s face appeared, she reached out and tried to grab the rifle. A large figure exploded from the water in front of Mercy and sprang over the lip of the pool.
Mercy fell back, dropping the rifle. She reached for her combat knife. The feral alpha pounced on her, its teeth bared. It pinned her down and lunged at her face.
Oh—
Mercy rammed her left arm up against the trope’s throat. Her right hand was pinned to her chest, she twisted it so the knife pointed upwards. The alpha pushed itself against her blocking arm. The knife’s point pierced its neck. The alpha pushed down, impaling itself further on the knife. The trope’s snapping teeth bit into Mercy’s hair.
Mercy cried out and made a half-roll to the right, freeing up enough space to twist the knife blade deeper into the alpha’s neck. Her steel struck bone, she rotated the blade again and heard a splintering sound. A blur moved behind the alpha. Movement. Rose stepped into view and gave the alpha’s skull a savage kick. The alpha flopped to the ground, unmoving.
Thank fuck—
“Down,” Rose yelled, throwing herself beside Mercy.
A hail of bullets slammed into the concrete roof edge from the opposite building.
“NSA—” Mercy scrabbled for her rifle.
Rose crawled to the edge. They were sheltered by the lip of the roof. Mercy squeezed up beside Rose and caught her breath.
“There’s about six of them on the other building. It’s just the pool between us and them—” Rose gasped.
Shouts came from the street below.
“They’re sending men up through this building too—” Mercy replied, she grabbed a fragmentation grenade from her webbing and pulled the pin.
A savage burst of gunfire raked the concrete rim. The firing stopped.
“They’re reloading—” Rose said.
A splashing sound came from the pool.
“Oh no you don’t—” Mercy said. She threw the grenade over the rim into the pool.
One, two, three—
An explosion shook the roof. The swimming pool collapsed in a shower of water and shattered glass.
“Now, Rose—” Mercy sprang up and dashed to the other side of the roof. Her eyes widened. The neighbouring office building was partially collapsed due to bomb damage.
It’s close… hell, it’s listing forty five degrees towards us. No choice—
Gunfire raked the roof behind Mercy as she ran the last few feet. She threw herself over the edge into dead air.
Chapter 30
Subterranean
Mercy hit a balcony on the listing office block. She fell backwards against the railings. Her vision blurred as pain shot through her body. Rose landed beside her, safe in the balcony’s grip. Shouts came from the roof behind.
That was a crazy jump, fucking mad—
Bullets slammed into the listing building above and below the balcony.
They’ve not seen where we’ve landed, they’re trying to flush us out—
Rose pulled at Mercy’s jacket and pointed at the office inside. Mercy nodded and gestured for Rose to take the lead. The pain receded in Mercy’s chest, her breathing returned to normal. She ducked low, scrambling after Rose.
The building was
bomb damaged inside, the floor had buckled and collapsed in on itself. Rose held onto to the ceiling’s sprinkler system and made her way across the office wall. Mercy followed, gripping the suspended cable trays for extra security. She looked down, the floors beneath had collapsed entirely, a yawning four story drop yawned below.
Jesus—
Rose had reached the office door and was clambering through it.
Focus, focus, keep it together—
The sound of breaking glass came from behind. Something fell through the dead air below, two seconds later an explosion shook the building.
Grenade. Get the fuck out of here—
Mercy pushed on, taking risks. The sprinkler system pipes grated as she pulled herself up the last few feet to the door. Rose was on her stomach, reaching out.
Everything’s at a crazy angle—
Mercy leant back and held the door jamb with one hand. She transferred one leg to the sloping corridor beyond before stepping across. Another grenade flashed through the broken office window and fell to the floors below. Mercy threw herself onto the corridor floor beside Rose. The explosion sent tremors up through the building.
Rose slapped Mercy on the back, “If we can get to the elevator shaft… the building’s tilted at an angle. We could slide down the shaft to the ground floor, it’s our only option—”
Mercy twisted around, holding onto the door frame. The tiled corridor sloped down towards a partly open elevator twenty yards away.
“OK, let’s do it,” Mercy replied. “I’ll go first.”
Mercy examined the walls and floor in the dim light. She sucked air in through her clenched teeth. “Here goes nothing.”
She let go of the doorway and began sliding down the corridor towards the elevator shaft.
Try and slow down—
Mercy reached out and tried to grab a fire hose box as she passed by. Her hands slipped and she slid out of control for the last twenty feet. She crumpled to a stop on the elevator door, her feet dangling over the edge. She stared into the dark lift shaft.
Mercy looked up at Rose, “Your turn.”
Rose’s silhouette moved in the doorway above. She slid down the corridor and managed to grab the fire hose box to slow her descent. She took a breath and slipped the last twenty feet to land beside Mercy.
The Survival Chronicles (Book 6): Dark Mercy Page 21