This was a person who General Hopper and the others said had earned the opportunity to go to the Republic of California. He should have been helping to build up the Republic, not lying in cold storage. Anger flared in Julie’s eyes as she looked at him.
She turned and went to the autopsy room. Each table had a tray with tools, a hose for cleaning the body, and grooves to direct blood and other bodily fluids to the built-in sink at the head of the table. Julie grabbed a pair of scissors, a scalpel, and a pair of blue nitrile gloves, and returned to Michael’s corpse. Her hands moved with ease as she began removing sutures to see what the pathologist did to him.
When she opened his body cavity, Julie found all the major organs were removed. The heart, lungs, liver, both kidneys, and the stomach were all gone. Did they have a mandatory organ donation program? She’d been in the hospital wing long enough that she’d have heard about it. There were no obvious signs of an injury that would explain his death.
They couldn’t simply be harvesting organs, could they? Julie’s gut twisted. The entire raffle was to find matching donors? It couldn’t be. Not even HAGS is this fucked up.
When Julie pulled the sheet back up over Michael, her quivering hands were impossible not to notice. She had to get out of here. It took her a few minutes to put everything back the way she’d found it. Her heart raced as she covered her tracks.
A flood of questions filled her mind. Had anyone even gone to California? The whole thing might be a con for some sick body harvesting scheme. To what end?
Julie shook out her hands to get rid of nervous energy. She was just about to leave when an idea struck her. She rushed back to the autopsy room, grabbed a scalpel and another pair of gloves, and pulled out Michael’s body.
She took a deep breath and then, as respectfully as she could, she rolled him onto his side and removed the implant from the back of his head. Once she cut and pried it out, she was surprised how small it actually was. Michael went back into the drawer, and she cleaned up again.
Julie emerged from the autopsy room, examining the device in her hand when a door creaked open and a woman strode into the room. She looked up from her paper, saw Julie, and gasped, dropping the clipboard and papers on the floor.
Julie put the device in her pocket and put on a pleasant expression. She knew the woman. Her name was Susan, and they’d spoken a few times in the hospital. As polite as Susan was to her in the med unit, the woman’s cold attitude toward her during their first days at the Farm were unforgettable. At one point, she gone on a lengthy rant that while Julie would be a big asset to HAGS, Collin would be doing nothing more than pushing a trashcan around. The delighted twinkled Julie had seen in her eyes made her want to scratch them out. Susan’s case wasn’t aided by the fact that she was partially responsible for the implants, even the freshly removed one in her pocket. Julie continued walking as if to leave.
“Julie, you scared me half to death,” Susan said. “What are you doing down here?”
“Nothing interesting. Just cleaning and prepping for tonight.” She waved her hand absently like it wasn’t important. It felt like a good bluff to her. “See ya later.”
“You’re not supposed to be here.” Susan moved to block her path. She raised her hand and pressed a button on her watch.
Julie arched an eyebrow at her.
When nothing happened, Susan’s eyes sprung open as her mouth dropped open. A strangled squeak came from her gaping maw.
Julie dashed forward and grabbed Susan by the hair and flung her against the wall. Susan squeaked again. Her body sank to the floor. Now that Susan knew her device didn’t work, Julie couldn’t let the woman leave. Her anger at the betrayal of Michael, a man who was supposed to be set free, not killed and harvested as likely the others, coursed through her.
“What are you doing to these people?” Julie snapped at her, yanking down on her hair to turn Susan’s face up toward her.
“What I’m told to do.” Susan glared at her defiantly.
“Not good enough.” Julie punched her in the face.
Susan lashed out, kicking the outside of Julie’s knee. Her leg buckled and Julie fell beside Susan, taking out a chunk of her fellow doctor’s hair in her tightly clenched fists. They both reached out, grasping each other and fighting for an advantage.
Julie scrambled up to her feet. Susan had a handful of her hair now too, forcing her to bend over. A fist slammed into the side of her head. Julie wailed in pain. She clawed at Susan’s cheeks and managed to shred skin from her bitch face.
Susan was strong and mean like a street dog. Julie wasn’t a fighter. Her anger was the only thing keeping her going. She looked up at Susan, who stared at the clump of hair and threw it aside. Susan’s fists came up like a boxer, and Julie wondered how she ended up against the only trained fighter in the medical unit.
“Why’d you steal his organs?” Julie pointed at the drawers of bodies. “He was elevated. He should have been heading to California.”
“In a way, he is.” A cruel grin twisted Susan’s face. Blood trickled from the claw marks Julie gouged into her skin “Now you’re going to join him.”
Julie’s eyes widened. She couldn’t allow that to happen. If she died, they’d find the paper Charlie gave her. That would compromise Collin and put Hunter at risk too, just for being associated with them.
Susan stalked forward and jabbed at Julie. The first strike got blocked, the second hit air as Julie jumped back. Her back hit the wall at the same time Susan ran forward.
Julie kicked out and caught Susan in the hip. The other woman grabbed her in a bear hug, heaved her up, twisted and threw her to the floor. The wind burst from Julie’s lungs. She fought for air while Susan looked down on her with a devilish grin.
There was a moment of reprieve while Susan kicked her leg again. Julie gasped in pain. A tear slipped out of her eye and trickled down the side of her face. Susan straddled her and grabbed her by the hair again. She lifted up Julie’s head.
“What were you doing in here?” Susan asked, glaring at her. “How did you find it?”
Julie was still gasping for breath but finally getting it back. Susan slapped her hard and shoved her finger in Julie’s face.
“What did you do?” Susan screamed in her face.
Julie reached down and wrapped her fingers around the implant she took from Michael.
“Fuck you, bitch.” Julie spit in Susan’s face.
The woman’s face went red with fury. She threw Julie’s head back which bounced off the hard tile. Stars glittered everywhere. Susan looked blurry. All the strength seemed to melt from Julie’s limbs.
Susan leaned in. “You’re going to pay for –”
Julie lunged forward and shoved the implant into Susan’s mouth. She grabbed her hair and jerked her head to the side, pulling Susan off her. Julie held Susan’s mouth closed and smashed her head against the floor.
Susan’s face made a snap and crunch sound. The implant slipped out of her mouth, along with several teeth. Blood splashed to the floor from her nose. Susan groaned, and her body bucked underneath Julie as she heaved and smashed her faced into the floor again.
This time the device broke, and there was a sickening odor and white smoke burst into the air. Susan began screaming, and Julie scrambled back. She pushed herself across the floor and watched in horror as Susan flopped on the floor in a pool of her own blood.
A spasm contorted her body, and Susan clutched at her face. Julie saw the flesh burning and melting away like a wax statue in the hot sun. Within seconds, the woman’s skull was visible. Blood, skin, and muscle dripped to the floor in hellish globs. She looked away from the horror.
Susan made a gurgling sound. Her body jerked violently a few times before going slack.
Julie stood and turned away. She covered her mouth, horrified by what she’d done. Her eyes clenched tight, but she could still see Susan’s face peeling away as the substance from the device burned her.
She went over to
one of the sinks and splashed cold water on her face. Julie gripped the edge and took deep breaths. Her heart felt like it would explode. After a few minutes, she turned back to the scene.
All of Susan’s hair had burned away, and her face looked like a doll that’d been set on fire. It was collapsed and unrecognizable. Julie coughed at the odor. As much as she didn’t want to approach the body, she couldn’t just leave her in the open like that.
Julie glimpsed Susan’s ID card. It’d fallen off in the fight. She picked it up and wiped off some of the blood. Julie moved one of Susan’s arms. The watch Susan had tried to use to control her implant still looked intact so she removed it.
She washed them both off, not realizing the watch might not be waterproof until she finished. It still appeared to work, much to her relief. Julie stuffed both items into her pocket and got to work cleaning up. The morgue had to look the same as it had upon arrival. She worked quickly, with practiced ease, and returned things to the way they were before making a snap decision on what to do with Susan’s faceless carcass.
She had quite a story for Collin and Charlie.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Hannah knelt on the ground near Frank, holding her rifle at the ready. Dillon was on the other side of them. Everyone wore handmade ghillie suits. Hannah had never seen so many in all her life. Stockpiling the burlap to make the suits over the years certainly had paid off, and Dillon had looked proud when he told them his town had enough for every resident. They planned for every scenario, and all his people could fight. Frank lit up when he’d told them that gem.
Ronnie, Dillon’s second-in-command, led his group of ten soldiers away from the main group. Hannah watched as they moved carefully, stalking through the forest with practiced ease. It was impressive.
There were thirty soldiers in total on their first mission against HAGS. Taking out the refinery they’d passed would be a good test of their alliance and strike a crippling blow against HAGS. No gas meant no vehicles, which leveled the playing field.
The HAGS soldiers had a listening post a few hundred meters ahead of them. Typically it was manned by three soldiers. Dillon said according to their intel reports, the soldiers didn’t take the duty too seriously. The guards would even shoot deer, elk, or whatever happened by their post. A gunshot here of there wouldn’t be alarming to the others inside the refinery. If anything, it would be like a dinner bell going off. Still, Dillon wanted to take them down as low key as possible so the main force at the refinery wasn’t alerted.
The force split into three groups. Ronnie’s unit would flank the listening post and wait to pick off anyone retreating to the base. The other two groups would hold their position while snipers moved forward. Once they found a clear line of sight, they’d drop the soldiers.
“Are we ready?” Hannah asked.
Dillon nodded and motioned for the snipers to move out.
Hannah felt antsy; she didn’t like sneaking around. She was ready to strike out at the company. She also couldn’t wait to spring the big surprise. HAGS would drop a peg or two after the battle.
Dillon brought a radio to his mouth. “Fishing lines are out. Things are looking good so fire up the grill, over.”
“Copy that. Bring back a big trout for me, over.”
“Fancy code.” Frank gave their new friend a sideways glance.
Hannah grinned at the look on Frank’s face.
“You never know who’s listening,” Dillon said with a small shrug.
Time seemed to slow as they waited for the snipers to drop their targets. Hannah was focused on peeling bark from a twig when the snap of their rifles made her flinch.
“Deliver the pizza,” Dillon said into his radio.
Dillon, Frank, and the others scrambled up to their feet and jogged through the forest to the outpost. Hannah scrambled up and rushed to join them.
Hannah glanced around the outpost. They kept things simple. Their fighting position was dug out in a V-shape with overhead cover. The bodies still lay inside. One of Dillon’s men lifted out a radio from the trench. Dillon handed it to Frank.
“Keep tabs on them,” Dillon said.
“Thanks.” Frank clipped the radio to his vest.
“Shhh.” Dillon held a finger to his lips. “Do you hear that?”
Hannah strained to hear and nodded when she confirmed his suspicion – the steady chug of a steam engine. It was dull and distant, but the unnatural sound stuck out in the forest. They had some time before it began charging along the track as its power built up, but they needed to hurry. I hope they don’t hear it coming. The wall of mountains running parallel to their position could potentially reflect the sound, alerting the enemy.
“Let’s move. Everyone to the tracks,” Dillon said. He motioned for his soldiers to start moving out. They would follow the train through the fence. When Dillon explained his plan, he’d revealed to them a devilish plan and a wondrous weapon. The train was rigged with explosives, but Dillon had to be close enough so his radio controlled detonator would work.
The steam engine was one of several that were housed in Grizzly Creek’s old train yard. A once thriving depot for transporting goods west of the Rockies and even to Canada, it had come as no surprise that HAGS would use it to their own advantage after ending the world. After Dillon accepted their offer to unite forces against HAGS, Frank proposed the attack on the refinery since it was the closest target. Dillon readily accepted the idea, one they had already devised a plan for in case tensions escalated, at which point Dillon brought up the train and shared the operational details. It was a match made in heaven.
Dillon’s plan called for the explosive laden engine to race toward the refinery, plow through the defenses and unsuspecting soldiers, and destroy the infrastructure. The chaos would serve as a nice distraction to anyone not killed in the initial blast. The Grizzly Creek soldiers, along with Hannah and Frank, would sweep in to mop up the resistance.
Hannah glanced back at the listening post. Only a slight twinge of guilt delayed her. At one time, she’d been with HAGS, but they’d utterly failed to live up to their promises. Terrible things had been done in their name, some of which she’d participated in. The guilt weighed on her like an Atlas stone. How did I fall for their bullshit? She sighed and took off, trying to move fast enough to leave her dark history behind.
They raced through the forest. The sense of freedom and purpose propelled Hannah. She grinned as she leaped over logs and wove through the trees. Memories of her childhood came flooding back. She passed her friends and quickly found herself in the lead.
With the listening post knocked out, Ronnie’s soldiers would push forward to flip a transfer switch on the train track. Its default position would divert any incoming trains away from the refinery, since HAGS apparently didn’t use the rail line. That would put them on a track that dead-ended, resulting in a crash. If they didn’t change it, their steam engine would derail or be diverted, wasting their greatest weapon.
All at once the trees stopped, and she emerged on rough gravel. She stopped, panting, and look at the train tracks. To her right she could see a faint column of smoke coming from the train. To her left, Dillon’s men were moving debris from the rails. HAGS hadn’t left things to chance.
Hannah ran toward them to help.
She grunted as they pushed an old car off the tracks. Its flat tires made it hard as hell to roll it over the rusty unused rails. Eventually, enough people joined in that they hefted the car up and over before it slammed back down onto the horizontal wooden ties. Other soldiers were moving boulders and clearing rubble from rails as well. With one final heave, the car rolled down the shoulder into the ditch that flanked the main line.
Hannah glanced back and saw Dillon, Frank, and more troops in ghillie suits emerge from the forest. She waved at them. Frank’s eyes widened at the sight of the blocked tracks, knowing it was the Achilles heel of their plan. They needed clear tracks, and they needed them now. Dillon ordered them to hurry.
“Did we switch the line yet?” Hannah asked, pointing at the lever to the right of the diverging tracks.
The soldier next to her shook his head. “I don’t think so, ma’am.”
Hannah crossed the tracks and ran along the shoulder until she reached the switch. The rusted handle looked like a giant emergency brake in a car, and there was a faded metal sign that must have indicated which way the line went. She grasped the lever and pulled. Nothing happened. She tried again with more force, putting her entire body weight into it.
“It’s stuck.” Hannah tried to move it back and forth, but it didn’t budge either way. She waved at Frank. “Come here.”
She followed the metal rod to the ground, but didn’t see any problems. Most of the switching mechanism was covered, probably to protect it from the elements. The pieces of track that shifted had large chunks of gravel around them.
“You sonofabitch,” Hannah snapped.
“What’s the problem?” Frank asked, scowling.
“Sorry, not you.” Hannah gestured at the ground. “I couldn’t move the switch, but I think it’s the gravel here blocking the tracks from moving. Give me a hand.”
The train’s engine roar became closer and more ominous. They were running out of time and both knew it.
Together they cleared out the gravel and stones that kept the track from shifting. Other soldiers came over to help while the others cleared the last remnants of the blockade.
“Hurry up; it’s coming,” Dillon said, running up to them.
Hannah’s fingers ached from digging at the rocks wedged between the metal rails. She looked up and saw the train moving steadily closer. She hadn’t even realized how loud it’d actually grown. Smoke billowed into the sky which made her frown. That would be a dead giveaway to anyone at the refinery paying attention.
Finally, they moved the last pieces of gravel and debris and moved away from the tracks. The line switched with the harsh grinding of metal on rock and they waited with baited breath until the engine growled past them, squeaking and clanking on the metal tracks. A terrible screech rose up from the switch when the massive cast iron and steel beast charged over it like an angry mama bear protecting her cubs. The train continued the right way, and Hannah let out a sigh of relief.
Fighting for War Page 14