The Aching Darkness_A Dark Fantasy Anthology

by Parker Sinclair

  “Don’t use any of your devices. If we have a breech, as you think we do, you may give your position away, in fact…” Before I can speak, Gage snatches my phone and throws it to floor where she proceeds to smash it to smithereens with the bulky heel of her boots. My mouth’s agape, but not for long, as she moves away, and I watch her press her hand beside the screens on the wall. Lights flare to life outlining her hand and swirling beneath her fingertips with glowing green precision. A sliding drawer answers her touch.

  “I’m glad you two seem to be so close and trusting of each other,” whispers Josh. “She’s like a Bond triple O seven.”

  Josh activates his protective suit that failed us earlier today, the very thing that may have been the cause for the current attack on our base. Once set, he slips into his vest, and though he constantly carries his single sidearm, he slides a second into his vest holster before efficiently stashing ammo into its various pockets.

  In contrast to Josh’s short-range weapon of choice, mine is the long sword strapped to my back. The crisscross leather strapping holds its sleeve where it rests perfectly, the majority of the time, against my back. Despite knowing full well when it’s slid into its resting spot, I can’t help but reach my hand behind me, allowing my fingers to give a feathery touch to the crisscrossed and knotted leather and wire hilt. Though Gage’s bounty lies before me, I’m secure knowing I have my sword; it’s an extension of me, like an additional limb following the commands firing along the neurons within my brain.

  Following Josh’s lead, I slide a vest on as well, slipping two side arms into their holsters along with other miscellaneous throwing stars and paralyzing Walker darts. Grabbing four wrist dart guns, I slip on two, passing two more to Josh. Next, I stash daggers into the hidden pockets of my boots, triple-checking the ease of release from their hiding spots. Peeking at the screens now and then, I eye Gage’s hand dancing over them as she zeroes in on the pathways of the invading team. Two more massively tentacled S2 Walkers can be seen slipping from the surrounding desert terrain, making their way towards the gaping busted door. That makes three so far, and at least fifteen humanoid forms. In the darkness, their red eyes are clearer; they are S1s, damn. Human minions would have made it much easier to concentrate on their bigger counterparts.

  “You need only to pack lightly; I have stashes of these racks at various locations within the base. Take one of these; it will be how Troy and I communicate with you through the compound. If we are right, and they are here for you, Ilese, you and Josh will draw them away, and let the drones and team one take care of this with minimal lives lost. Check communications, and tap here to see the map of the base and all its weaponry compartments.”

  Nodding, Josh and I take the small devices that slip onto our wrists with matching earpieces.

  Looking over the map, we plan our next steps. “Troy, do you have a lock on their numbers and all locations? If we’re lucky, this door is the only breach and they are sticking together, for now, then they will all go down in one fell swoop.”

  Troy’s smooth, computerized voice answers instantaneously. “Yes, Commander Gage. We have forced them to stay in the western quarter of the compound; luckily, none have made it into the residence area. As directed, we are completely locked down.”

  Gage moves her hand back to the small table; a snarl plays on her lips at the memory of her previously shattered glass. Fingers flexing, she instead moves them through her hair.

  Troy continues his break down of our situation, as Josh and I triple check our artilleries and ammo. “Phase one personnel are at the ready. Silent recon drones are keeping us up to date on their movements, and the attack drones are powered up and ready in the assault breakfronts. Shall I signal the drones to attack, Commander?”

  Gage hesitates. “We need to ensure that this is it, that there aren’t more lying in wait. Contact with our perimeter, if any of them remain, is priority. This may be their first wave, so I can’t shoot our entire wad on them. We’ll need a kill zone for their withdrawal, and to stop any potential killer companions from backing them up.”

  Gage’s glinting eyes move quickly over the screens, her mastery of the plan taking over. “Ilese, contact Sergeant Addison Lee on the new tech. Don’t worry; it’ll scramble hers as well. We need eyes and ears out there.”

  The monsters aren’t waiting for us to figure our shit out, though. They begin to bang and dent the lockdown doors upon any wall they can find. If they got through the bay door, they can easily get through those as well. Our engineering department needs to get back to work, because what we had in place was obviously not secure enough.

  “Sergeant Lee.” Addison’s answer is an anxious calm, signaling to me she’s been awaiting orders during the radio silence.

  I smile, thankful my friend is still alive. The storm’s winds tear through my speaker, the monsters outside using Mother Nature’s wrath as cover during their assault. “Addison, it’s Captain Katan.” Yes, your capable leader, not the person responsible for this nightmare.

  “Captain, what’s happening? I’ve been unable to reach Command. We’re in the high hide, Magnus and I. Bogeys have entered, and I’ve sent our recon drones to check on the first perimeter to see how they broke through. I’m waiting for them to return, and my app screen doesn’t show a thing but rain and desert so far. I haven’t seen or heard from anyone else. What are my orders?”

  It’s hard not to smile while I answer, even with the shit show happening around us. “It’s great to hear your voice, Sergeant Lee. Stay on the line.”

  “I have her on, Commander. What are your orders?” But Gage doesn’t get a chance to give her orders. Addison’s shock and subsequent gasping scream tenses my body to the point Gage knows there’s no use talking until she hears what else has gone wrong.

  “What is it, Addison? What do you see?”

  My words are followed by Gage’s barking orders at Troy to pull up anything Addison is seeing from her drones onto the damn screen immediately. One screen showing a vacant side of the building flickers and a new picture takes its place, commanding our attention. Our eyes, seemingly forced open in horror, watch as our perimeter team, now turned into mindless S1 killing machines, march through the rain blasted desert towards the compound.

  “Fucking shit, fuck!” Gage’s ire may sound unhinged, but I know her well and she’ll use it, along with all of her wit and prowess, to continue working on a plan to take these bastards out. “Troy, get me a closer look at the S1s with the Hollow Walkers inside our nest.”

  I swallowed hard, turning to Josh to see anger and hurt in his eyes. We both had friends outside, and now they’re gone, just as quickly as those we lost earlier today. In my mind, I vow to not allow more lives to be lost; this is my responsibility, what I was created for.

  “Damn it. Are those more of our own?”

  Josh and I step closer to the screen. Yes, they are in uniforms with our insignia, but something is different about them.

  “It appears so, Commander Gage,” Troy breaks into our disbelief, zooming in on faces and using another screen to pull up pictures, names, and ID numbers of soldiers who were thought to be long dead.

  “All dead, years before you joined the team, Ilese.” Gage’s voice was calm yet seething, answering the questions spinning around within the swirling hurricane in my brain. “Dead before we knew they could rise again and turn, and now, our past is coming back to haunt us.” A quick motion, one most people wouldn’t even recognize, breaks Gage from her reverie. “Sergeant Lee, change programs on your drones, full attack, keep the second wave from reaching the compound. We’re searching for other perimeter survivors to assist you. Stay quiet and up in your high hide with Sergeant Magnus, let the drones do their job.”

  A new image pops up on the screen, one of Addison with her fingers to her lips, keeping herself silent and calm while a tear catches the little moonlight the storm allows to break through its vicious clouds. Swiping it away in a heartbeat, I see her lips move
as sound hits my ears seconds later.

  “Yes, Commander. We’re on it.”

  “One more thing, Sergeant. Don’t attempt to communicate with anyone else on these comms; I’m certain they have access. That’s the only way they could have gotten this far. Move quickly, and we’ll have someone to you with new gear as soon as possible. Best of luck.”

  Addison’s eyes find the screen, and I see her lock onto the camera as she smashes her comm. She and Smith work quickly to reorder the drones, as they’re pelted with rain in the darkness of night.

  “Commander, the bogies are beginning to have an impact on the interior doors. My calculations require our immediate response before we have another breech.” Troy’s tone is one I wish my own mind would take on, mechanic, unfazed, and my normal go-to self, but now, everything has changed.

  “We’re ready, Commander.” My statement confident and prepared. “We’ll make it to team one in a less than two minutes. I’ll lead them in, and we’ll take the beasts apart. I’ll send the drones for distraction and to help divide the group, giving us time to close the breech. We’ll ensure that there’s no escape.”

  Meeting my confident gaze, my commander, the woman who believes in me and helped me become the leader I am, gives me a calm and intrepid nod.

  Returning the gesture, my fingers then touch the hilt of my sword as Josh’s rechecks his sidearms. His strong upheld chin shows he’s prepared; yet, his eyes now carry something more, more than even the subtlety I knew was always there, one I never cared about or for, until now.

  “Don’t worry, Captain Katan. If anything, I’m even more capable than before.”

  Josh’s green eyes flash with his new circle of blue. His response causes a flutter in my chest, something alien to the Dark Angel I’ve always been. It’s as if we are linked together at a deeper level now, and if he has more of my abilities, we can take these creatures down easily

  “I’ll be with you the whole way, Captain Katan, Lieutenant Langdon. Let’s get these sons-of-bitches.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Protection

  The stillness during our approach should be comforting; instead, I’m aching for the normal sounds of the compound. The laughter, cursing, and even the occasional tussle would displace the dread that’s settled in my stomach like a hibernating evil. The lockdown means relative silence, no comms, no talking, not unless absolutely necessary. I say relative, because my sophisticated hearing permits me to pick up on Walker nails gripping into the walls near our waiting team. I envision the monsters pressing their grisly ears against the wall, trying desperately to hear something, anything they can kill.

  As we close in, increased thuds and terrifying scratches echo all around us, and they aren’t from friendlies. The evil hoards’ onslaught on the locked doors and walls reverberates all around us, signaling to Josh and I that we are heading in the right direction. My senses know the way, even if my memory of the entire compound isn’t guiding me. Josh flanks my right, weapons raised. Throwing stars coated in our paralytic concoction rest comfortably in my fingers, poised to find their targets as we weave through the dimly lit halls. We’re both on alert in case we’ve missed something in the breach, and one of our foes has made it past before we locked down.

  Seconds stretch like hours. Words we cannot speak hang between us as we approach a fight unlike any we’ve experienced. These abominations have invaded our turf. Little do they know, what we’ve created in the laboratory playground that is our battle ready complex, though even that comfort isn’t changing my course of action.

  We reach the red metal door where the phase one team lies on the other side. Pausing, I send a text to Captain Michaels, careful not to speak as we prepare to take on the Walkers and ghosts from teams’ past. A quick response and I show the screen to Josh. While we prepare to join the team on the other side of the door, for the first time ever, I sense regret for what transpired earlier between Josh and I in my room. Before then, I only felt the duty of my job, but now, an inkling of sadness, loss, and heartbreak creeps into my mind, when before, my mind never provoked such things. Looking at Josh, my reflecting worries are replaced by the mask of the lead captain of Operation Quietus. Unsuspecting of the emotions that pass through me, he gives his trademark let’s-kick-some-ass smile as I grab the door handle.

  A shrieking creak causes my eye to twitch, but I’m hopeful the constant banging from our enemies will cover the sound, not to mention I’m fairly certain my hearing far exceeds their own.

  With the door ajar, Josh and I slip in like specters. I take a quick assessment of the fifteen soldiers preparing to give their lives to save the rest of our crew, cringing when I see two stowaways, the twins Marcus and Cash, who must have negotiated their way in knowing their captain would be here as well. With eyes glinting, they turn slightly to the left, showing me their deadly packs. The bombs inside, might possibly pack enough power to destroy this entire compound. There’s no sign of Nadine and Erik, which settles my shoulders to a more comfortable position, down and away from my ears. Sliding next to Michaels, I whisper to him, letting him know that I’ll take the lead. Marcus and Cash need to stay back as a last resort, a command they are used to obeying.

  “You’ll have Langdon as well. I’ll take five of yours with me first, but the rest of you hang back until I give the command.”

  “What’s your plan, Katan?” Michaels stares straight ahead as we speak, though it’s as if his eyes are on me.

  “We need to paralyze the big ones, and fast. Give me your five and have them locked and loaded with darts. We go in sixty seconds.”

  Michael’s hands produce quick signals, driving a mix of five men and women to his side. He uses hand signals to ready them as I return to Josh.

  “Michaels has requested you stay with his team while I gain us some ground with a few from his first.” Josh’s eyes flare, and I nudge him before the glowing blue band reappears.

  “You’ll be right behind me. I just need to give us a quick advantage.” Without permitting him a second to respond, I move to the door with five soldiers in my wake. Josh shifts backwards and to the side, maneuvering himself as close to the front of what remains of Michaels’ team as he can manage, without crossing the line with his superior. His jaw is tense, and chest high, and I swear I can see a slight tremble. He knows, but it doesn’t matter. It can’t matter.

  I look over my shoulder to address my team. “Once we cross this door’s threshold, a mantrap and another door lays between those monsters and us.” My voice a whisper, as I point to the girl closest to me, Betty, I believe. “Close this one behind us as soon as we’re all clear. Once I open the yellow door, aim and fire your paralyzing darts from within the breezeway. Do not cross into their hall. This is a mid-range attack, so be ready. I’ll lead, do not cross my line, understood?”

  Soundless nods of agreement answer me, and I grab the final handle to open the massive metal door to the last bit of safety that exists before the lethal madness on the other side. I give one last look to Josh over my shoulder, and then, I pull. All six of us file into the mantrap, the last closing the door behind her. The sounds we had heard behind the red door are nothing compared to what we hear now. Banging and bashing is only topped by the nails scraping on metal, raising the hairs on my neck nearly to the point of extraction. Lifting my hand, I signal for everyone to follow my lead and lower the visors on their helmets. I then begin our countdown gripping the handle of the yellow door. Taking a deep breath, I yank it open.

  An explosion of sounds and tangles of tentacles and arms flail about in the hall. The small space is to our advantage with the massive Walker bodies trying to bash away as the human forms dodge their tentacles while making their own attempts to break in.

  “Fire!”

  Darts explode from multiple chambers, some hidden within balls that explode releasing tiny sharp poisonous spurs that pierce the skin indiscriminately. A Walker stands at the front, some tentacles paralyzed, while others continue to st
rike. Reaching for my sword, I hack at its colossal limbs, clearing a path before the rear ranks of our enemies can swarm us. Tapping into my comms, I release the drones, needing them to move more of the monsters away. They arrive quickly. The small desert sand-colored machine bodies, equipped with quad copters, cameras, and hidden gadgets galore, begin shooting rounds of ammo and poison. The plan works as half of the onslaught turns to battle our flying assault team. Clicking more buttons, I send them off down the hall as our adversaries give chase. I’m driving them to a specific spot, but they’re too daft to worry about a trap. Now that those I face are a more reasonable number, I step inside the hall and press one last button. The yellow door closes and locks behind me.

  No more lives will be lost today, not because of my mistake. I dive in, hacking limbs apart of both S1s and S2s left and right. Most are impacted by the poison in some way, so it’s easier work thanks to the team.

  My comm starts to blow up in my ear. “Ilese, Ilese what are you doing?” It’s Josh. That didn’t take long.

  Flying to the right, I manage to hit a few more buttons on my wrist comm to permanently keep that door closed, overridden by the code Gage gave me long ago, only me, and I had time to change it without her knowing. I send Josh a quick text, one that will never be enough, and then, I severe his connection and any showing of my location. One last tap on the comm and my earphones sync flawlessly.

  It’s a Linkin Park sort of night, and Chester’s haunting voice tears into my mind, driving my body and mind to destroy those who have killed and threatened my team. ‘Breaking the Habit’ pumps the blood throughout my body harder, faster, and more intense than I’ve experienced in years, and I’m using it to tear apart these suckers one by one, bit by bit, until they pay for what they’ve done.

  Their screams nearly drown out Chester. Oozing black blood splatters, red glowing eyes cease their glow, as I take my share of beatings in the process. One gigantic arm of an S2 bashes at my helmet, cracking it. I don’t need its protection anyhow, yet the visor links to my drones, and I can’t afford to lose it completely.