Vanessa flinched as a flurry of bullets pinged across the windows and metal frame, gemstone cracks dotting the thick glass. Up ahead the twin blade monster hissed and fired a stinging missile that tore open the roof of the house with an orange flash, then turned full circle to face them once again. It was game on.
Aaron began a jagged arc around the street while Vanessa searched the ground for the soldiers determined to ruin their joy flight. No longer a helpless passenger and now armed with the ability to fight back, her heart swelled and pupils sharpened as she zoomed in to the fresh chaos below.
She could see them now, scurrying between the fallen trees and scattered cars with weapons poking out to pierce them with anonymous hate. Holographic shapes washed across her eyes, green turned to red and with an angry push of her thumb an unseen barrel roared and the soldiers began to flay and fall, unprepared for bone shattering rain. Vanessa didn’t feel vindicated or any immediate sense of catharsis, but she sure as hell didn’t suffer any guilt either.
The twin blade charged towards them with belly spewing rockets that whizzed past with high pitched wails. Aaron could only wince as he banked sharply in any direction that would keep them alive for the next second and give him a chance to even the odds. They were close enough now that he could see the pilots through the smoke and glass. Shaking the tail wasn’t in the equation and time had abandoned them. Toe to toe was the only option.
He pitched high and straight as Vanessa changed tact with a series of missiles sent down to light up the street. Hanging on behind them, John sensed what Aaron was about to do and pulled Candice’s head down close to his lap as the cabin made a sharp and sudden descent that brought the twin blade directly into view up above with nose facing nose.
“I’ve never had time for bullies!” Aaron yelled.
In a simultaneous instant he unleashed a pair of heat seeking missiles laden with vengeance as a fresh round of rockets blasted from the twin blade’s belly. At such close range neither machine had much chance of hiding from the stinging kisses that raced through the air, and fate was swift in her announcement.
One rocket blurred past but the second slammed into the roof of the cabin. In the blink of an eye the propellers were obliterated as an orange curtain of fire rolled across the glass with a flash of searing heat. Miraculously the reinforced steel had held but with no blades to carry them gravity had right of way as the ground rushed toward them. All they could do was curse, pray and brace for impact.
John covered Bobbie’s head, squeezed Candice tight and closed his eyes as the engine spluttered silent and their drop speed increased. His mind was frantic as he tried to gauge the distance. They hadn’t been that high had they?
The landing hit with an impact force of a thousand punches that jarred jaws and shook bones, but as his eyes shot open he saw that they were still alive. Shaken and shocked and covered with shattered glass, but somehow still alive. The sound of an explosion overhead echoed through the cabin, jolting them from their stunned state.
“It’s now or never!” Aaron yelled over his shoulder.
John lifted Candice’s face close to his.
“You ready?” he asked
“I think so.”
“In that case,” he smiled, “let’s go.”
The door was jammed, forcing him to lean back and kick at it over and over again until it finally burst open. He jumped out onto the cracked tar, helped Candice with her exit, and eyeballed the house at the end of the street. The roof was a haze of fire and smoke and a small crater defaced what was once the front yard, but he could just make out the carport door beginning to open.
With guns clenched tight they began to run through the blood drenched carnage. John stole a brief glance up at the sky and caught sight of the twin blade limping through the air with flames pouring from its engine, before snapping his attention back to the street where Vanessa’s aim had been brutal. The bodies of cut down soldiers lay sprawled across torn up lawns and blasted concrete, some with faces pointed up to the heavens as though looking for answers.
He grabbed Candice’s hand as they ran between scorched cars, some filled with families that looked as though they had suddenly stopped and fallen asleep. With the clouds overhead rolling into bizarre formations, fire and smoke billowing from holes in the ground and broken houses, bodies littering the street like ragdolls and the distant sound of thunder that marked the ocean’s ferocious penetration, John was sure reality had dissolved and they were running through the strangest of surreal paintings and headed for whatever lay at the edge of the frame.
Bobbie bounced against his chest as the harness began to loosen a little, but rather than cry out with disapproval he locked his claws into John’s shirt for support. An overload of sounds and smells bombed their senses and sheer determination kept them moving along the street, the house getting closer and closer. With every step John expected a bullet to stop him in his tracks, knowing you didn’t hear the one that would get you so listening out for the crack was pointless, but it didn’t come. They were running through a graveyard full of fresh ghosts.
Hitting the driveway at full speed they almost didn’t see Joey standing in the shadows of the carport entrance. He had an assault rifle pinned to his shoulder and wild eyes seemingly looking straight through them.
“Down!” he shouted.
John and Candice dropped to their knees with heads ducked as Joey aimed and fired at whatever threat he’d spotted. By the time John turned to assist there was nothing but bodies littering the street. There was also no sign of Aaron or Vanessa.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Joey drawled. “He crawled out from under the car and was about to take ya head off. Jesus I can’t believe you’re here.” Seeing Candice somewhat shaken and still on her knees he stepped forward and offered a hand. “I don’t know who you are but we sure could use another gun.”
“I guess I’ll do,” Candice replied as she accepted his chivalry.
“Klementina,” John stammered as he caught his breath, “where is she?”
“Wedged in the tunnel somewhere. The impact shook things up real bad and the entrance is all jammed up. Eric’s on the welder as we speak. Is that a cat?”
“He better be cutting through that thing like butter ‘cause there’s a wave on the way and it’s not made for surfing.” John grabbed Candice and raced past Joey into the carport before pausing to yell over his shoulder. “Aaron and Vanessa aren’t far behind and might need that aim of yours.”
“You got it.”
They dashed through the shadows and bound through the doorway into the first main room with helmets falling to the floor, only it wasn’t as John remembered. The walls were still adorned with antique paintings but they were ripped and jagged thanks to the roof having come crashing down, with the swirling sky directly above them and a hot wind playing with the debris scattered across the floor.
“This way!” John said, leading Candice through the flotsam and into the next room.
“Where is everybody?” Candice asked.
“Good question.”
This room was still protected from the elements but chunks of the walls had crumbled away and computer equipment was spread across the floor in disarray. Just as Candice had observed, there was nobody about. There were plenty of discarded gas masks and even a half drunk cup of coffee that had somehow survived the rumble, yet no signs of life.
“Are you sure this is it?” Candice looked around the room with suspicion. “Maybe we’re too late…”
“This is the place alright,” John confirmed, “but this isn’t the room we want.”
He maintained the lead and stepped across the floor, through the doorway and down the hall into the kitchen. Keeping close behind, Candice was about to ask what was so important about a damned kitchen when he came to a stop in front of what looked like a huge, shattered mirror with razor sharp pieces still lodged in the frame that created an illusion of a monstrous mouth filled with broken teeth. And if it was a mouth
, the throat was long and dark with a stomach that made strange grinding noises.
“I’m going to assume we’re heading down there,” Candice said with a raised eyebrow.
“Considering the tide’s on the rise and our ride is down for the count, this could be our only way out.” John eyed the hanging shards to make sure they weren’t about to break free and take his head off then looked down at Bobbie. “How you doing there big guy? Not the relaxing holiday we expected huh?”
As if sensing John’s guilt Bobbie used a paw to lift his head and push it against his chest before burrowing back into the harness with nose buried deep. John scratched the back of his ear and looked through the shattered mirror door.
“If there’s a way outta this buddy,” John said, “we’ll find it.”
He stepped beneath the hanging shards and, once Candice had followed suit, raced down with anticipation at whether or not they’d just flown through hell only to be rewarded with a dead end to nowhere. As the painted Egyptian images floated by he knew one thing was for sure, the odds weren’t looking too good.
At the bottom they stepped onto the wooden floor covered with loose dirt and raised their hands to shield against a sudden flash of light. Once it passed John squinted through the shadows to find Eric hunched against the round metal door. A deep red and molten square hissed where the welder had kissed, while standing beside him a young woman turned to face them with a gun in each hand, her face expressionless beneath a torn and frayed baseball cap.
“Easy there,” John said carefully, “we’re not the bad guys.”
At the sound of his voice Eric spun on his heels and lowered his visor, balancing the weight of his large frame onto his good leg. A joyful recognition lit up his eyes but there was no smile, only smeared metal dust and sweat.
“Oh shit am I glad to see you! Things have gone pear shaped real quick down here.”
John grabbed him with a quick hug and then examined the door. “Don’t get too excited,” he said, “things are about to get a whole lot worse.”
“There’s a tidal wave headed this way,” Candice explained, “and you can bet there’s a bit of force behind it.”
“Perfect fucking timing,” Eric cursed.
“Where the hell is everybody?” John asked.
“The launch team hit the tunnel before the shit storm hit. The others? They hit the roof when we started taking fire, so you tell me.” A frown suddenly drew down his lips. “As for Klementina and Talitha, they followed the launch team but something happened in there.”
“Okay,” John said as calmly as he could, “and what about the door?”
“Lock bar’s jammed. I’ve punched a hole through but I still have to slice through the bar.” He paused to glance at John’s chest. “Is that a… cat?”
John pulled down the edge of the harness. “Bobbie, meet Eric. Eric, meet Bobbie. Now let’s get this damn door open before we’re fish food.”
With a sharp nod Eric slammed down the visor and crouched back at the door, lighting up the room with flashes and sparks as John wrapped an arm around Candice’s waist and stared back at the Egyptian sprayed hallway. Surely, he thought, Joey would come bounding down any second with Aaron and Vanessa in tow.
“What’s it like up there?” the woman beside Eric suddenly asked.
John couldn’t help but notice the way her pale skin was drawn tight against her cheek bones and wondered if she had already made her peace.
“Well, let’s just say the city’s gonna need a complete rebuild and the weather’s straight from hell, with a forecast of more to come.”
“I’m Anita.” With sparks fanning the shadows behind her she moved closer to run a gentle hand along Bobbie’s head, who in turn lowered his ears and began to purr. “The world still has hope if you’re carrying this much love with you.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“I guess what I want to know is,” John began nervously, “with all that’s happening and you being a Jumper and all, are you really able to find any kind of peace?”
Anita smiled and looked into his eyes with a strange comfort that shouldn’t have existed in a moment like this. “When it comes to biology, pain will always accompany death. As for the soul, pain only comes with the unknowing, and death will always accompany the knowing.” She reached out and playfully tapped the tip of his nose. “I’m at peace, I guess you could say, with knowing I’ll soon know.”
Behind her Eric suddenly threw down the welder and ripped off his visor. “I’m through,” he panted, “but I’m gonna need a hand.”
Nobody needed to be told twice as they rushed to throw their weight against the metal door. It creaked and groaned and felt as if a truck would meet its demise hitting it, but somehow within the cries of physical exertion it began to scrape forward inch by painful inch until it crunched open with a metallic gasp. The tunnel was exposed in all its pitch black glory.
“We’ll be needing these,” Eric said while limping across to one of the sofas and grabbing a pair of head torches. He strapped one on and threw the other to John who did the same.
Glancing across the room in the hope of finding the arrival of familiar faces, John found only empty shadows and so, with Candice by his side, jumped through to the dark of the tunnel to catch up with Eric and Anita.
The concrete floor was quick to echo the sound of their frantic feet. Beams of the two torches dictated what could be seen, though earthen walls and a seemingly endless stretch ahead was all there was besides the smell of burning steel. Nothing was said as they pushed forward as fast as possible. If there was an eye to the monster of all storms, they were in it.
Deeper and deeper they travelled, thoughts of what might lay ahead scattering behind them in the dark like breadcrumbs for a trail to nowhere. Candice kept a hand pressed on John’s back as he led the charge, head swaying left and right with hope that the light would pick up something, anything, that would let them know their fate. For the moment though it felt to her as if the tunnel would stretch on to eternity.
Stumbling along with a feverish anxiety thickening the air, eternity suddenly dropped away when the torch lights hit upon a haphazard wall formed of collapsed earth and chunks of rocks from the roof. John sprinted forward and dropped to his knees, desperately trying to look through a small break in the debris. He lifted a hand over his head to demand silence and listened for anything above the beating of his own heart.
At first there was nothing, but then…
There it was, the unmistakeable sound of a woman’s hushed voice. With Eric crouched beside him now John angled the torch light through the crack until two sets of eyes came flashing back, followed by a weak but distinct voice.
“If you’re not family,” Klementina rasped, “there’s only death waiting for you on this side.”
“Hello to you too!” John couldn’t help but laugh.
“Nothing but family here,” Eric called out with a tentative sigh of relief.
“Is that you John?” Talitha’s voice barely cut through.
“You betcha,” John replied as he studied the job ahead. “We’re here, and we’re gonna get you out.” He spotted a rock that, if moved, might give them a chance. “How you holding up Klementina?”
For several moments there was only silence, but finally her strained voice whispered through the crack. “I’m still alive so there’s that, but the launch window is getting smaller by the second. Please, we need to get her to the pod.”
John felt a sharp scratching across his chest as Bobbie suddenly clawed his way out of the harness, jumped onto a jutting rock and squeezed his way through the break as though he’d done it a hundred times before. Just a couple of seconds later Talitha’s voice called out with excitement.
“You brought him, you really brought him! He’s so cool…”
There was nothing for John to do but shake his head with amazement before pointing at the large boulder that was wedged in the dirt just abov
e head height.
“If we can get that thing free,” he declared, “we should be able to smash through the rest of it pretty easily.”
“I’ll start digging,” Anita offered as she flexed her fingers.
“Need a hand?”
John spun around with a start and there, standing in the glow of the torch, Aaron, Vanessa and Joey grinned in unison.
“Don’t ask what’s back there,” Aaron continued. “Now shine a light on that fucking mess so we can tear it down.”
Eric limped over and embraced his friend with as much force as his arms would allow, and brought their heads together with whispered thanks for their current survival. Aaron nodded his agreement and then ushered them both to the wall where hands were already at work to dislodge the rock.
Vanessa supported Candice as she scraped away at the dirt with already bleeding fingers, Anita scraped away at anything that would break away and John strained to shunt the boulder from side to side with Joey’s assistance. Earth mixed with shards of concrete tumbled from the pile but the downward pressure seemed absolute. Aaron and Eric were quick to add their strength to the mix and, after a plethora of muttered curses, the rock began to loosen. Still, it was adamant in staying where it was.
“This thing’s gotta real attitude problem,” Joey said.
“Fuck this,” Aaron spat. “Stand back.”
Eric, understanding what was about to happen, quickly yelled through the small gap.
“I think you should keep your heads down ladies, and maybe block your ears!”
With warning announced he hobbled back and lit up the wall with his torch. Aaron double checked he had a little space and grabbed the gun from his belt, stood on the tips of his toes and proceeded to blast into the dirt beside the boulder. The shots rang like thunder in the confines of the tunnel, a relentless barrage that didn’t stop until the weapon clicked against an empty chamber. Unconcerned with the burning hot lead waiting to singe his skin, he let the gun fall to the floor and rammed his right arm into the newly created crevice.
The Hallucigenia Project Page 75