by SD Tanner
Nodding, he walked into what should have been an ambush to see ten men spread across several shops. “Nice to meet ya, Carl. I’m Stax.” Flicking his head at the men on either side of him, he asked, “Is this all of you?”
Carl walked out from the store and shook his head. “Nope. There’s about five hundred of us ten miles from here. We’re planning to swarm the nest. We figure some of us might make it through.” Looking him up and down, he asked, “What’s your plan?”
“Same as yours.” He stuck out his armored hand. “Welcome to the team.”
While Carl shook his hand, more men walked out from the two stores, clearly curious about his gear. His own Navigators had finally realized something was happening and were leaving the bedding store, but none had their weapons aimed at the new arrivals. As everyone shook hands and exchanged names, he moved Carl away from the crowd.
Giving him a concerned look, he asked, “What happened?”
“We were being held prisoner. It was okay for a while, but then they started taking people into one of the buildings.”
“Do you know what they were doing?”
Carl’s eyes became red and he shook his head. “No, but they took the young ones, the most healthy and they never came out again. It was impossible to get inside of the building. They were guarding it pretty heavily.”
“So, how did you get out?”
Sighing deeply and shaking his head at memories clearly best forgotten, he replied grimly, “We swarmed them at the fence.” His voice cracked when he added, “There were over five thousand of us and we’re all that made it out alive.”
Touching his shoulder as gently as he could in his armored gloves, he asked, “What did you do when you got out?”
“Found more transport and regrouped.”
“Why aren’t you heading somewhere safe?”
Carl shook his head. “There isn’t anywhere to hide and what’s the point if we do?” Leaning into him, he added hoarsely, “They were collecting people and dropping them into the town.” Widening his eyes slightly, he added, “I mean, literally dropping them…from a height. Some survived, many didn’t. We don’t know why they were bothering to collect them if all they intended to do was drop them like that.”
Not having an answer, he shrugged. “The critters are pretty darned stupid.”
“Yeah, we worked that out in the end as well. They’re not even vicious…more mechanical than anything else. If we didn’t know they’d started out as human we would have thought they were machines.” Looking at his armor curiously, Carl asked, “Where have you come from?”
“This is military tech and we’ve teamed up with them. Their site is near Johnsondale in California. Anyone who survives our attack on the nest should head there.” Giving him a worried look, he added, “We weren’t expectin’ any help and whatever you can do will be gratefully received, but you could head to CaliTech now if you wanted to.”
With a decisive shake of his head, Carl replied, “No way, no how.” He grew misty-eyed again. “We had families and a future, but now we have nothing. If you take away everything from a man then he has nothing left to lose…”
Finishing Carl’s sentence with him, they both said in unison, “And that’s a dangerous man.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Future untold (Ark)
A stream of trucks were driving along the road, leaving CaliTech for what he assumed would be the last time. Survivors living in the Park were waving at them as if it were an Independence Day parade. He supposed it was a big event. They were riding away to fight the evil doers that had destroyed their world, but beneath the excitement was an acceptance that few, if any, would return. Bill had offered to go with them, but he couldn’t use the Navigator gear and someone had to stay behind to manage the shadows. Amber had cried when he’d first been able to walk again, and she’d wept even harder when he’d left for what they assumed would be the last time. Dom had simply handed him a letter, which he had yet to read.
He was perched on top of a truck being driven by Jonesy, with Lexie sitting beside him. Tuck was driving the other truck and Trigger, Tank and Leon were sitting on top of it. Bill was convinced that the nest at Pueblo Pintado had something special inside of it, and after considerable arguing, he’d persuaded him to send their most highly trained Navigators there. With only seven of them, his group was slightly smaller than the other battle teams, but they were the most experienced.
After spending more than a year safely hidden behind its walls, it was strange to be leaving CaliTech. When he’d taken the job, he’d already grown tired of living in the public eye. People would discreetly study his scars when they thought he wasn’t looking, and young children would openly ask their parents why he looked funny. Their curiosity wasn’t offensive, but no longer blending in with the crowd made him feel like an outsider. Even his own family had struggled with his new life. Where he’d once been the annoying rebel, he became someone to be babied and despite appreciating their good intentions, he’d quickly wearied of their endless consideration. CaliTech had become his home, and unlike the others who were watching the crowd, he kept glancing back at its receding walls.
Seeing him look back again, Lexie spoke to him through a private channel on the grid. “It’ll be alright.”
Knowing it wouldn’t be, he asked, “Why do you say that?”
“You promised I wouldn’t die alone and now I won’t.”
“But you’re okay with the dying bit?”
“You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“I kinda do.”
“No, you don’t.” When he didn’t reply, she added conversationally, “The problem with you military types is that you want absolutes. Everything has to be known upfront or you don’t think you can plan for it. Of course, not everything can be known and in the absence of information you make stuff up.”
Struggling to find an immediate argument to her statement, he stuttered, “Umm, well, we don’t just pull it out of our asses. There’s a high probability that what we predict will happen, will actually happen.”
“So, what? That’s still not an absolute answer. Your opinion of what’s most likely to happen is based on very little knowledge. It’s just your opinion and you know what they say about those.”
“Yeah, they’re like assholes. Everyone’s got one.” Enjoying the diversion from his less than happy thoughts, he asked, “So, what’s your opinion?”
“I haven’t got one. I’m prepared to wait and see what happens. The difference between you and me is that you always need to feel in control and I never have been.”
Lexie always had a knack for going with the flow and her simple attitude to their current predicament was probably the wisest he’d heard all week. Reaching his hand to hers, he said, “For a dope you can be pretty smart.”
Their plan was to travel to the trailer they’d used before and spend their last night there before attacking the nest. He’d watched their missions through the screens in the bunker, and although the squad had been to the trailer a few times, this would his first. With so few critters roaming the land, their trip to the trailer was uneventful. Through the grid, he was being kept updated on the status of the battle teams and all were moving into position. Stax had found five hundred survivors willing to swarm the nest with him, but Hood’s team were no longer responding, making him wonder if they were still alive.
Leaving no one to guard their trucks, they’d all hunkered down inside of the small trailer. After months of being abandoned and only used by them, it was barely more than a shed filled with broken furniture and appliances that no longer worked. Tuck had set up the generator and they were charging as many packs as they could, making sure they would have enough power for a full-on fight.
Sitting with their backs to the walls, which was almost the only way they could sleep while wearing their full gear, he leant his head against the wood. Part of him was tired and another part was wired, making it difficult to know which would win. He knew he shou
ld sleep, but it seemed like a waste of what little time they had left.
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one with that thought and Trigger began to speak. “I’m not one for speeches, but you guys have been the best I’ve ever worked with.”
“Really, Trigger, the death speech?” Leon asked dourly.
“Nah, I just can’t think of anything else to say.”
“Why do you have to say anything?” Leon asked.
“Beats the hell out of sitting here pretending we can sleep.”
Lexie laughed. “We could play truth or dare.”
“We’re not ten,” Tuck replied.
“Or girls,” Tank added.
“So, what do you talk about on the last night you expect to live? What’s the etiquette for that convo?” Jonesy asked.
“I think you’re supposed to confess your sins and ask for forgiveness,” Tuck suggested.
“Isn’t that the same as truth or dare?” Lexie asked cheekily.
Realizing that being wired was going to win; he accepted that sleeping wasn’t going to be an option for any of them. “What do think has happened to Hood?”
“He probably got lost. He’s a Marine and I don’t think they teach them to read maps,” Leon replied with a snort.
“Seriously.”
Leon sighed. “I dunno and I’m worried about him too, but he’s a pretty resourceful guy so maybe it’s just that their comms are down.”
“All of their comms?”
“Let’s not assume the worst. He had hardcore, well-trained Marines with him. I don’t think they’d go down without a hell of a fight.”
Unable to answer the question, they lapsed into silence again until Leon asked, “Why do you think Boris’s face is plastered on the side of that thing in the nest?”
The sight of Boris’s face on the side of the black creature had both repulsed and fascinated him. “I dunno, but I’ll bet he’s not too happy about that.”
Leon snorted again. “That guy was never happy about anything. Do you think he’s the reason they attacked NORAD again?”
“Possibly. I mean, we know it can…infiltrate people like it did Cassie, plus the aliens can transform cells so I assume it absorbed him.”
“They really are gross,” Lexie remarked. “For such a sophisticated species they’ve got no class.”
“I suspect a cow would say the same of us,” Tuck replied dourly.
Harrumphing, Lexie said, “Okay, new game…what will you do if you don’t die tomorrow?”
It was an interesting question and he grinned at her. “Marry you.”
“Aww, I’m gonna to hold you to that tomorrow.” Turning to Tank, she said, “Your turn.”
“Convince Ally to date me.”
Hitting his head against the wall as he guffawed, Leon spluttered, “You have gotta be shitting me. You never got there, not even with the end being nigh.”
Screwing up his face, Tank replied, “I’m a little rusty…and apparently not all that charming.”
While he joined them in laughing at Tank’s frank admission, he wondered how Ally was doing. He and Bill had agreed as a fully functioning Navigator she should be with Hood’s battle team. Bill had challenged him about having both Jonesy and Lexie on his own team, but he’d been adamant about keeping her close. Jonesy had been equally as determined to take down the nest in Pueblo Pintado. In the end, Bill had been forced to agree, although he said it wasn’t the fairest assignment of their fully functioning Navigators.
While everyone was still laughing, Lexie kicked Leon’s boot. “Your turn.”
Still chuckling, Leon said, “If we survive that’ll mean we won, so I’m gonna sleep…for a long time.”
Tuck said, “I’m gonna go hunting. I want a proper meal, one where I can’t move after I’ve finished.”
With so many survivors, they were having trouble maintaining the food supplies. Although the Navigators were always fed first, there was never quite enough to go around, plus people were often too tired to eat.
Trigger elbowed Tuck. “We should bag ourselves some turkeys and have a Thanksgiving.”
Each remembering how it felt to be overfed, they nodded in agreement until Jonesy finally spoke in a low voice. “I’m not gonna survive tomorrow, because I don’t want to.” Waving his hand at their concerned faces, he added, “I know you think I’m crazy, but I’m not. I know what I’m doing. It just took a while for you guys to catch up. It was always going to come down to this and I’m ready. Watching the world break down, losing everything that mattered to me…I couldn’t be more ready.”
Whoever wore the camouflage suit was invisible to the critters, meaning they would watch everyone else die as they fought to get them to bottom of the nest. It was considered a cursed role by all of the battle teams and no one wanted to wear it. Knowing he would probably be the last man left standing, Jonesy had insisted that he be the one to carry the curse and no one had argued with him.
“A little payback,” Leon said solemnly.
Shaking his head, Jonesy replied, “Not really. Nothing I do tomorrow will bring my family back. I guess…I guess this is for anyone who makes it. I mean, I haven’t made it. I’m physically with you, but I didn’t make it. Tomorrow we’ll put down everything we have for anyone who gets to live once we’re gone. I’m not doing this out of anger or even grief. I’m doing this because I have nothing left to lose and everything to give.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Friends in low places (Jo)
Jake had left with Dayton and all of the other medical personnel, leaving only a small team to handle any casualties lucky enough to make it back to CaliTech. Having promised Jake that she would watch over Cassie while he was gone, she’d headed across to the small hospital. She had a job to do, but as she walked past the room with the transformed people, she stuck her head inside of the door, calling to the technician hovering over their bodies.
“What are you doing to them?”
The woman looked up from her tablet. “Err, we’re collecting data.”
Walking into the room, she studied the naked body lying on the table. Instead of a bed, they’d placed it onto a metal surface that she suspected was used for autopsies, securing restraints around its arms and legs. It had a pale, almost luminous and even color, molded white face, long thin limbs and sexless torso. Motionless and without any signs that it was breathing, she didn’t think it was alive.
“Is it dead?”
“We don’t think so.”
“How can you tell?”
“It regenerates cells.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because we took some and they came back.”
Screwing up her face in distaste, she asked, “What’s it made of? Plastic?”
“No, and to be honest we’re not really sure. It’s a molecular structure that we haven’t seen before and it’s going to need a whole new name.”
With her hand hovering over its chest, she gave the technician a worried look. “Can I touch it?”
When the woman nodded, she laid her palm on its chest and was surprised to find it was warm. “Oh, I thought it would feel cold, like a dead fish.”
“You think that’s weird? Check this out.”
Leaning across the body, the technician tapped it on the nose with her stylus and, like a doll that she’d had as a child, its eyes blinked open. Briefly showing milky white eyeballs, the eyelids snapped shut again. Now that she was studying its face, the eyes looked overly large and the head was oddly rounded.
“What else can it do?”
“If you cut it, it cries.”
“What?”
“When we took the biopsies it made a high pitched whining noise like we were hurting it.” Looking disappointed, the technician added, “That’s why Doctor Dayton won’t let us autopsy it.” With a slight shrug, she said, “It’ll be a moot point once it dies.”
“Is it dying?”
“We think so. Its body temperature has been slowly dropping and if it
hits zero we think it’ll be dead.”
“You mean we’re killing it?”
“I guess so. Apparently they found it inside of goo and we believe that transports nutrients, so maybe that was feeding it.”
Despite her disgust with its appearance, she suddenly felt sorry for the creature. It had once been human, but now it was their prisoner and they had no idea how to care for it. The technician clearly wasn’t concerned for its welfare and part of her suspected they were probably being cruel. Whatever it was, it had no way of defending itself so it was vulnerable. It reminded her of how their own people were being held prisoner by the critters, unable to defend themselves and at their mercy. How were they behaving any differently to their enemy? Weren’t they holding these transformed people prisoner, unable to look after them and not caring that they couldn’t?
“Don’t mistreat it. It was a person and they’re still alive.”
The technician clearly didn’t agree with her and returned to studying her screen. She hadn’t gone to the hospital to see the transformed people and turning away, she headed to Cassie’s room. The contrast between the care of the transformed and Cassie was apparent the moment she stepped inside of the room. It was lit with a soft light and a gentle voice came from a speaker near Cassie’s head. Listening to the voice, she realized it was an audio book they were playing to keep her entertained. After she’d briefly woken, no one questioned whether Cassie was still human anymore, and that was why she needed to talk to her.
Pulling a tall chair to the side of Cassie’s hospital bed, she gently stroked her arm. “Cassie, we know you can hear us and I need to tell you something.”
Now the battle teams had been deployed there was nothing much to do other than to wait. Wired with anxiety and unable to rest, she, Bill and Dunk had held a meeting with the heads of the departments, desperately looking for any way they could help their battle teams. They hadn’t come up with much, but one of their ideas was to try feeding misleading information to the creature in the nest. Ark had used this tactic several times before so they were skeptical that it would listen, but agreed anything was worth trying.