DIRE : TIME (The Dire Saga Book 3)

by Andrew Seiple

  I didn't want to admit my total ignorance in this area, so I grunted and nodded. Didn't seem to matter, he was staring off into the distance, a dead look in his eyes.

  “Dottie says there’s some occult significance to it. Me, all I see is some insane vile little guy making up reasons to hate people, and using power he doesn’t deserve to torture everyone he hates. And using that to get more power.” He spat out the back of the truck, hanging on to the side to avoid falling out. “People like that make me sick.”

  “Met a lot of them, have you?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “More than I thought when I enlisted.” He laughed. “That’s some good I’ve done, anyway. You fight Nazis, you know that every one you kill is pretty much another step to making the world a better place.”

  I considered the dead I’d left behind since my impromptu trip back here. I hadn’t hesitated, either. The paradigm was completely different from my own era... these weren’t the caliber of villains I was used to, and the heroes who opposed them had a completely different moral code. It really was black and white, no shades of gray to be had.

  And yet, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. I’d worked with it because the consequences of failure were high, and because by the morals and ethics I’d integrated, they were all violating the unwritten rules by trying to kill me first. But there were no rules, written or unwritten in this era of war. We were near the beginning of the superpowered era, and it was more or less anarchy between powered individuals right now.

  My silence had gone on perhaps a bit long, and Unstoppable seemed to assume he’d said something wrong. “I take it you disagree?”

  “Hm? Not necessarily. Just realizing that she’s been a bit bloodier than she could have been. Not seeing many ways around it, though.”

  “Doc, listen... you saw that ice chest they were bringin’ out, right? That one for me?”

  “Ah, that. Yes. It was a factor in her strategy, to prevent you from being entrapped.”

  “Yeah. That cat-thing’s paw was right on my spine, and I was squirming, but my head was at the right angle to see it coming. And there was nothing I could do, just watch them drag it over, inch by inch. That? That’s the sort of thing I have nightmares about. Trapped, helpless, stuck without air in the dark.” He shook his head.

  “You wouldn’t die at least.” I smiled. Then I stopped. “No, you wouldn’t, would you?”

  “The doctors tell me I’m not aging anymore. Best they can tell I’m immortal.” He said it like he was telling me what he’d had for dinner last night. “Which means that if I get sealed up in something I can’t bust out of, and nobody lets me out, then I don’t get out. Ever. And I don’t die, ever.”

  I shuddered. “Ah. Well, glad that didn’t happen, then.”

  “So am I. Owe you one, Doc. A big one.” He chuckled. “Who knows? If nothing goes wrong and I survive the war, and don’t get trapped anywhere, maybe I’ll look you up in the future? Come to your house, meet your kids and husband, stay for dinner. Stuff like that.”

  “No kids. No husband. Just her. Well, her and a few friends, but that’s all.” I smiled. “You’d be welcome at the table, though.”

  “Not married, huh?” A flash of white teeth again. “Can’t see why. Lot of dumb guys in your time, I guess.”

  I snorted. “Hardly that. Just— complicated. She’s bad at relationships. And work leaves little time for that sort of thing.” I remembered the one time I’d tried signing up for a blind dating service on the Grid. To understate the situation, it had gone poorly.

  “Well, you let me know if you need anything. Henri’s spread some bedrolls up near the cab of the truck if you want to sleep.”

  I realized just how much I was running on fumes. In my focus, I’d been ignoring my body. Though the Gamanu extract had healed my injuries, it had been a long day and a longer night, and I was feeling drained.

  We spent the next day motoring through Northern Croatia and Slovenia. The trucks ate up a lot of diesel, so whenever we crossed into a village that looked like it had a motor vehicle or two to its name, Bryson went out, posed as a Nazi officer, and requisitioned as much gasoline as the surly farmers were willing to give up.

  They feared the Nazis, I could tell.

  “Bit different in the capital and the cities,” Dottie explained. “They leaped on the alliance with the Jerries straight out of the gate. But out here in the heartlands and the wilds, it’s not a good thing for them. This is the heart of the resistance, out here. Rather surprised we haven’t been ambushed by guerillas yet.”

  “Don’t jinx us,” Unstoppable said, waving a finger in admonishment. “Anyway, we’re going to hit the border to Austria soon. That’s a whole ’nother ball game.”

  I threw myself into the repair and maintenance of the Mecha, anticipating the worst. Wasn’t easy on the shuddering back of a rolling truck, but I had the sinking feeling we’d need it sooner rather than later.

  Unstoppable spent most of his time watching me, helping keep the tools from skittering out of the back, and chatting whenever I got a second to talk. I appreciated the company.

  He really did have the nicest eyes. Deep blue, warm and sympathetic. I talked about this, that, and the other, giving as many generalities as I could, trying to avoid compromising future knowledge. He seemed a safer topic, so after a few tries, I managed to get him talking about himself.

  “Aw, I’m just a guy from Queens.”

  “New York? A lot of your earlier questions were about that area.”

  “Yeah, it’s a borough out that way. Nice place to grow up, y’know?” He shrugged. “Plenty of other orphans to play with in the home. And when I got recruited the state assigned me parents while the experiments were going on. They were good folks.”

  “Must have been nice. She never knew her parents.”

  “You an orphan too? No kidding?” He brightened up.

  “It’s complicated, but essentially, yes.” I slid the screwdriver up into the underbelly of the mecha, and pried the remnants of the radio out of its carcass. I had an idea to amplify the limited vision available from within the cockpit, and enough spare parts to see it through. The trick lay in modifying it without screwing up the rest of the machine. It was a seriously high-performance vehicle, with all the problems that brought. Definitely a prototype, which explained why I hadn’t seen it in the wikis when I went prowling through Nazi inventions out of idle curiosity that one lazy afternoon.

  Still, it seemed a little strange just how familiar the mechanisms felt under my fingers. Didn't have time to dwell on it, though. Too much to do.

  “Y’know, it needs a name.” Unstoppable leaned against it, peering at me through one of the inch-wide vision slits.

  “You’re in her light!” I protested. I threatened his eye with the screwdriver, teasing, and he laughed. But the idea held merit, and I tilted my head to consider. “A name, you say?”

  “Yeah. Something cat-related. Like, ah... Mechanical Evil Overlord Wagon.”

  I laughed. “MEOW! Nice. Doesn’t quite fit, though. If you’re going for funny acronyms, you need really long ones to be effective. MEOW is too short.”

  “Got a better idea, smartypants?”

  I rolled out from under the mecha, and glanced around. Spare uniforms, tools, the truck’s emergency bundle, spare tire, Unstoppable, Unstoppable’s well-muscled legs, Unstoppable’s easy grin, his legs again because they were fun to look at— and the pistol at his waist. The one he’d chosen with the distinctive shape, taken from the officer’s cooling corpse back at the farmhouse.

  “Mauser.” I muttered. “Yes, MAUSER.”

  He gaped at me for a second, then laughed, bending over and slapping his knee. “I like it! Two different puns! Oh wait, I suppose you’ve got an acronym already?”

  “Yep.”

  “Throw it my way, doll.”

  “Mechanical Automated Unit for Search, Eradication, and Restraint.”

  Unstoppable snickered. “Okay, you
win. Can’t top that one.”

  My grin grew wider. “Victory is hers! Hmhmhmhmh... hahahhaha!”

  “Sounds like you’re having fun back here!” Dottie chirped, making her way around the bulk of the newly-christened quadrupedal war machine. I was in a magnanimous mood, and merely waved a hand in greeting.

  Unstoppable squinted, his smile gone. He always seemed to lose his good humor when Dottie was around. “Just another checkup, or do we have news?”

  “The latter. Henri’s had another transmission.”

  “Yeah?” Unstoppable stopped slouching, leaned in. From relaxed to all-business, in a heartbeat.

  “Von Katzen’s special squad just got orders to evacuate the area.” Her grin was gone now, and I could see the worry in her eyes.

  “Which area?” I asked, but I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

  “Everything north of us.”

  “They found the farmhouse.” Unstoppable mused. “Easy to guess that we’d go north, even if nobody’s reported the truck, and I don’t think we’re that lucky. So why are they clearing out?”

  “Think about it,” I said, replacing the access panel on the back of the MAUSER, and tightening the screws that held it on. “Von Katzen’s in charge of the technological side of things. But there’s a magical wild card in the mix.”

  “Mitternacht.”

  Dottie nodded. “Bryson thinks there’s a rivalry there. Katzen’s fellows cleared out so Mitternacht can have a good shot at it.”

  “Probably bitch—” Unstoppable paused, glanced between us. “—whining all the way. Say this for the Ratzis, they don’t let the heaped corpses of their buddies slow’em down.” He smiled. “Suits me fine, usually. I’d much rather deal with the science guys than the magic ones, though. This might be a problem.”

  I nodded, looked to Dottie. “Can you do anything mystical to help us?”

  Her frown deepened. “I wish I could. Without knowing what he can do, there’s no way to prepare.”

  “Well. We’ll just have to see what comes and survive it.” I shrugged.

  Two hours later, we pulled off the road, into a copse of tall trees. In the distance a storybook castle rose high against the sky, where the forest rolled into hills.

  “Polish border ahead.” Unstoppable said, following me out of the truck. “No way they don’t have watchers up in that castle.”

  “It’s not that big.” Dottie came back to us, keeping a weather eye toward the structure. “Compared to some around these parts, I mean.”

  Bryson emerged from the cab, looked around with satisfaction. I was amused to see that he’d replaced his stolen Nazi uniform with his fine suit, as unwrinkled as if he’d just gotten it from an ironing board. “Ten minute break. Then we’re going to discuss the way ahead.”

  Dottie tugged on my arm. “I could stand to powder my nose. Come with me?”

  After taking care of business and kicking leaves over the results, I caught her scrutinizing my face.

  “What?”

  “He likes you, you know.” Her smile was a smirk now.

  “Hm? Well, Bryson has been giving her less flack today. Starting to accept that she’s actually competent. Kind of nice.”

  “No, I mean Unstoppable.”

  “Well yes, he’s a friendly sort. Always has been.”

  She glared at me. “Do they not have flirting in your time?”

  “What does that have to do with—” Oh. Huh. Well, hadn’t expected that. “Not sure how she feels about that,” I muttered, as the silence dragged on.

  She patted my shoulder. “I think you should consider knocking boots, dear.”

  “What?” I looked at my shoes. “Don’t have those.”

  “No, I mean you should find an opportune time to entertain him.”

  “She’s pretty sure he’s having fun as is.”

  “Oh for Heavens—” she stood on her tiptoes, and tugged on my shoulders until we were eye-to-eye. “Just find a bed and shag him.” Her face turned bright red, and she let go of me. “Sorry, sorry, that was crude, I didn’t mean, it’s just...”

  “Dottie.”

  “Yes?”

  “She’ll take it under consideration. Thank you for explaining.” I forced a smile.

  “Ah. Yes. Er, we’d best get back. Before, er. Well, they might think something’s happened...”

  “Dottie.”

  “Yes?”

  “Let’s go back.” She sighed in relief, and started back up the trail.

  I followed, shaking my head. Her embarrassment had eased my own.

  Didn’t know if I wanted to copulate with Unstoppable, but he was fairly good looking, and had a charm as irresistible as his regeneration. I’d give the matter some consideration, if and when we found some quiet time. But until then, Nazis were trying to kill us. Or worse, if some of the horror stories that Dottie had whispered to me about the Thulites were true. Vampires and demons and worse, oh my...

  The thought seemed to weigh heavily on Bryson’s mind, too. As soon as we broke the treeline into the clearing, he went straight to business.

  “They know we’re coming, but we’ve stopped short of the last ten miles to the border. They’ll have prepared the ground against us, as much as a day’s warning has allowed them to.” He tapped his cane against the ground, thoughtfully. “We need to pool our resources, try to come up with some workable tactics for slipping their net or fighting through, and go to it.” He glanced up at the sky. “Perhaps two hours to nightfall. And I’m leery of trying to do much at night against a fellow named ‘Mitternacht.’”

  Smart. “Dottie, can you bring anything to the table for this?” I asked.

  She put her head down, considered for a moment. “Divination. The Thulite tradition emphasizes divination. They can foretell things, see events and find people.”

  Great. Another Schrodinger situation. “Precognition? Not good. Is there any way we can counter that?”

  “Well, it’s not as horrible as it sounds. I mean, divination is hard to do. The future’s always changing, and portents and prophecies are vague at best. And it takes time to set up. So at best he’s spent all day doing a rite that might give him a ten-second vision of a possible future.”

  “All right. So he might have some general ideas, but hopefully not our entire game plan. Which we don’t know yet.”

  “Their other specialty is quite a bit more problematic. They’re aces at binding.”

  I sighed, and leaned against a tree. “You’re not talking about restraining people with rope, are you?”

  “Oh dear, no. I’m talking about coercing people into doing your bidding. People and... things.” She swallowed.

  “Things like the Sturm Crows.” Unstoppable glanced over at Dottie. “Heard they wrecked your coastal Tesla Towers during the first invasion.”

  She shuddered. “That was a sticky time, please don’t remind me. But yes, like the Sturm Crows.”

  “And the vampires on the Eastern front.” I glared at the castle, the parts of it I could see through the trees.

  “Yes, those too.”

  “You’re awfully fixated on those.” Bryson observed.

  “Bad experience once.” I'd damn near died.

  “Anyway,” Dottie continued, “we can expect some sort of... well, most of what they’ve got are monsters. Expect some sort of monster.”

  “Not plural, there?” The phrasing caught my attention. “Not more than one?”

  “Not more than one kind,” she explained. “Different types take different bindings, which don’t work well together. It can sometimes disrupt the ethereal bonds, and free a bound subject, if they mix. They usually come out rather angry at their ‘master’. Very few of them like being bound in the first place.”

  “Something to exploit, maybe.” I rubbed my chin. “Don’t see how at the minute, but if the opportunity arises...”

  “Well, I haven’t met the thing that can kill me yet.” Unstoppable said. “But if it’s big enough, it won�
��t matter. Best I can do is buy you time while you figure out how to stop it.”

  “I have my cane, fully recharged.” Bryson tapped it on the ground again. “The ball topper’s interchangeable, I’ve got several different metals and materials in my rucksack. Could play to any vulnerabilities we identify.”

  “She can pilot the MAUSER.” I gestured at the open back, and the metal haunches and tail visible in the fading light. “And innovate as necessary.”

  “I can perhaps do something.” Henri offered. He met our eyes in turn as we looked at him, almost in surprise that he’d spoken up. Normally so quiet, he tended to fade into the background.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “Not for the binding, or unbinding of things. But I can ask Monsieur Égalité for help against the divination.”

  Ah yes, his telepathic link back to his collective in France. “Now how does that work?” I was curious.

  “We have one in our collective who can make himself and those around him harder to see, even by senses beyond mortal means. I do not know how much of his power will reach at this distance or if he can be spared, but I will ask.”

  “Distance affects it?”

  Unstoppable nodded. “The further from their boss, the less the effect of the powers he grants. Only thing stopping them from taking over the world.” Henri glared at him, and Unstoppable glared back.

  “We have no such ambitions.”

  “Yeah. Sure. It’s a total coincidence that you guys have been quietly looking for a power amplifier for the last decade or so.”

  “Yes, for use against the Germans!”

  “To begin with, sure. But after that, then what?”

  “Hey!” I said, getting between the two of them, and glaring them down. Henri merely narrowed his eyes, but Unstoppable had the grace to cough, and look away.

  “Sorry,” He muttered. “Not the time, I know.”

  I looked back to Henri. “Get the power. Use it. Every edge we can get.”

  Henri looked to Bryson, who clapped him on the shoulder, and nodded back. The tall Frenchman grimaced, and after ten seconds or so, nodded. “It is done.”