“Maza, you good?” Van asked.
“Grab her. She’s right there,” Maza said, pointing at the empty floor. “Shit.”
He spat the blood that had pooled in his mouth.
Across the room, a glass bottle fell and Maza spun, the muscles in his jaw tightening.
Molly crouched on top of a bookshelf. She dangled a rope over the edge, the noose at the end pulled taught around Kip’s neck. “Why don’t you like me, Kipper? Aren’t I pretty enough for you?”
Kip kicked and pulled at the rope around his neck.
Maza scanned the space, his gaze landing on Kip’s heat gun device under a chair across the room.
“Get… Her… Off… Me…” Kip’s words came out strangled.
Van rushed for the device.
Molly twisted her grip on Kip and shifted, kicking another instrument. It teetered, then hit Van in the chest, sending her tumbling over a lab bench.
“You little shit,” Maza howled. He drew back the hand that held the wrench, aiming as best he could at the demonic child.
“No!” Kip choked as Molly pulled him higher off the ground.
Maza let the tool loose and it soared through the air.
Just as Molly grabbed Kip by the shoulder, the wrench smacked her in the face, sending her backwards off the shelf and forcing her to let go. Kip crashed to the floor and tugged the rope free from his neck.
Van propped herself against the bench. “Little asshole.”
Kip coughed and rubbed his hand across his throat. “You guys all right?”
“About as good as we can be. Let’s just get this shit done,” Maza grumbled. He helped Van to her feet, then walked over to Kip. Maza mentally scolded himself. What had happened to him? First, some Dweller had gotten the best of him and now he couldn’t even capture a little girl. If he didn’t get his mojo back soon, he’d dethrone himself as the chief of the Tekaha.
Van handed the boy the heat gun. “This better work or I might have to kill your girlfriend.”
Kip opened his mouth to speak but then closed it, nodding.
As they turned the corner, something above them whined.
Maza looked up just in time to see Molly’s foot disappear through the hatch that lead to the roof. “Kip?”
Kip turned out his pockets, sending an assortment of small tools and spare parts clattering to the floor. Maza glanced down at the mess. It was very obviously missing something important.
“She has the key,” Kip whispered. He bolted for the ladder to the platform.
Maza and Van jumped into motion. Using their kits, they propelled themselves across the room and through the door after the child.
The light from the setting sun stung Maza’s eyes as he pulled himself through the door and onto the rooftop. They had to get Molly back before she infected everyone in the city.
Skidding to a stop, Maza set eyes on Molly. She sat on the edge of the roof, one leg dangling over the open air. She locked eyes with him. Her pupils had deepened to a rusty orange and the smile that crossed her face, could make a demon turn and run in the other direction.
Maza pushed Kip and Van behind him. “Listen, kid. Maybe if you took a step away from the edge, we could talk. I wouldn’t want to have to hurt you. ”
“Smooth,” Van whispered under her breath.
Maza glared over his shoulder at his sister, reminding her he wasn’t just her brother, but her chief.
“Hurt me? Aw, you’re so cute,” Molly squeaked. “How’s your jaw and nose, by the way?”
“Feels great, thanks for asking. Now, about that whole coming down from the ledge thing...”
Kip stepped out from behind Maza. “Molly, don’t do nothing crazy.”
Molly’s face softened. “Aw, my little Kipper. So adventurous, yet you never have time for me? Maybe you aren’t that cute after all.” Her grin faded into a scowl.
She turned to look over the ledge and Maza took that moment to rush her. He knew what she was thinking, and he’d go down with her before he let that happen. It was his job to protect and, as much as the little girl got on his nerves, he wouldn’t let her jump.
Maza stopped as Molly turned back around.
“Listen kid, come on in,” Maza cooed. “You owe me a round two. Or are you the scared little girl everyone thinks you are?”
Molly snarled. The orange tint in her pupils started to bleed into the whites of her eyes like bloody veins. The virus was taking over completely.
“Wouldn’t you like that, Mr. Strong Guy? A chance to hurt a little girl? Does that make you feel powerful?” Molly cocked her head to the side. “Okay. You can have your shot.”
Molly hopped off the ledge and took a step towards Maza. “If you can catch me.” She spun and dove head first over the ledge.
Maza charged. A few feet down, on another platform, there was an open manhole.
“I really hate this job,” Maza huffed as Van and Kip rushed up behind him. He swung his legs over the edge and pushed himself off. The fading light of the evening flickered, then cool darkness replaced it. When his boots hit the ground, water splashed up, soaking his bandages.
Part 3
Time To Save The World… Again
16|Tunnel Vision
Van felt bad for throwing Kip over the ledge of the shop. But the feeling only lasted a moment. They had to catch up with Maza and Molly before things went from worse to destroying an entire planet.
When she was sure Kip was out of the way, she jumped. Van landed hard, the vibrations running up the muscles of her good leg and settling in her back. She looked down, half expecting to see her prosthetic leg shattered into a million pieces, but it held up under the impact. As she sloshed through the water, she wondered if the mechanical leg was waterproof.
Looking around, Van realized they were in a tunnel that stretched in both directions. The metal walls were rusted from the moisture and, as she turned in a circle, Van noticed that Kip looked pissed. The kid shook the water from his clothes. “You all right?”
“Fine,” Kip snapped, trying to regain control of his breathing.
Maza laughed, but it was a little strange seeing the adventurous kid so nervous. Her brother raised his closed fist making Van and Kip immediately fall quiet. He unfurled his fingers, his index and ring fingers slightly twitching.
Van’s body tensed, on high alert after seeing her brother's signal. The Tekaha had learned from birth to communicate through minuscule movements. Back home on Taraveil, it was life or death when hiding from their enemies.
Van studied her brother’s face. The face of her leader. Maza scowled, his jaw ticking, indicating which way Molly had gone and that he wasn’t sure if she was expecting them. A slow blink warned her that she needed to be alert.
It was good seeing Maza back in his role as chief. It was like a comforting blanket knowing her brother was in charge. She nodded.
Kip clutched his heat gun. His eyes shifted back and forth between Van and Maza as if he understood they were communicating, and it was best to keep his mouth shut.
Another slight twitch and Van stepped to her brother’s right. She motioned for Kip to go to the left but stay back a few steps. A standard V-sweep formation. It allowed them to cover good distance and keep an eye on each other at the same time. Her brother had trained the Tekaha to sweep this way when he’d taken over as chief six years ago and it had been their standard maneuver ever since.
The leader of the Tekaha had to be the best warrior around. In order to take the seat, you had to kill the current leader. Maza had done it quicker than anyone in Grinder history. And although many had tried to take his seat, none had ever stood a chance. Van let a smile crease her face as her brother took charge.
“Keep quiet and stick to me,” Maza whispered to Kip.
“Do you even know where we are?” Kip asked. “Because I do. This place is a maze. Let me lead and you cover my butt, or whatever. Otherwise we’ll spend weeks down here.”
Maza glanced over at
Van. She didn’t want to say it, but the kid was right.
Kip pointed the heat gun and stepped ahead of Maza.
Water splashed beneath them as each quiet step echoed down the tunnel. Van’s movements were seamless, and she was impressed at her leg’s ability to handle slippery conditions, easily catching her and keeping her upright even in the worst areas.
The deeper into the tunnel they went, the more the smell of stagnant water and rusted metal took over. Van tried not to think about what kind of filth lurked in the water, especially in areas where it thickened to sludge.
“So, Kip, do you have any thoughts on how you might apply your theory to the entirety of the Machine to fight the contagion?” Van asked, forcing herself out of her own head.
Maza exhaled abruptly through his nose. It was as polite a ‘shut up, Van’ as she was going to get. Fortunately, Kip seemed to get the message and shrugged.
Something jerked Van backwards and she spun to see Maza with his finger over his lips. He lifted his head, listening. Van followed suit, tilting her head up, but she couldn’t hear anything.
Maza forced her and Kip backwards and jumped to the side. He reached into an enclave. There was a shuffle, then Maza pulled out a tall, skinny Dweller by his collar. The boy had a long face, pointed ears, and surprisingly soft eyes. Maza slammed the Dweller to the ground and placed his foot on the kid’s throat, a silent warning.
Another shuffle sounded behind them.
Out of the corner of her eye, Van saw movement. She used her kit to do a flip off the wall of the tunnel just as a pipe collided with the metal. She landed in a crouch behind a round male Dweller and swept his legs out from under him.
When he hit the ground, Van thrust her boot into his shoulder, sending him sliding across the slippery surface into the wall.
Kip backed up, eyes wide. “What the hell?”
Van walked over to where the man lay motionless. He was still alive. She grabbed him under the arms and dragged him to where her brother stood.
Maza rubbed his knuckles. “It seems we have friends in these tunnels. A little fact you forgot to mention?”
“This place is home to all sorts of stuff. I didn’t think we’d catch Backslangers here though.” Kip shrugged.
Van dropped the Dweller at Maza’s feet and wiped her hands on her pants. “Catch what?”
“Backslangers. They’re a gang here. Normally they hang out in a hidden alley that you have to know about to find. I can’t imagine why they’re down here.”
“Let’s ask then.” Maza leaned towards the boy he’d pulled out of the wall. He grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up until he was standing. “Speak.”
“Piss off, Topsider.”
“That wasn’t very nice, was it?” Maza growled. He slammed the boy’s head against the wall. “How about now?”
“Kip, tell your muscle here I ain’t talkin'.”
Maza spun towards Kip. “You know this guy?”
“Uh, yeah. This fella here is Pivot. That’s his cousin, Phillip. Not the brightest in the bunch, but they work for one of the more prominent gangs in the city.”
“Yeah, and you just wait until Lupo gets his hands on you for interfering again. He’s gonna kill you, Kip,” Pivot growled. “He’s already looking to take you out after you helped Adal and Arija escape. You know how much he would have gotten for their skin?”
“We don’t have time for this.” Maza pushed the kid against the wall. “Give it up.”
Kip walked over to the Dweller, pointed his heat device at him and pulled the trigger. The mechanical teen winced, his face scrunching up.
Van watched as the Dweller’s face turned down. His muscles tightened and he clamped his jaw together. “What was that?”
“Yeah, this doesn’t really hurt us, per se, but it’s extremely uncomfortable. Makes us feel sick. Watch, I’ll show you again.” Kip pointed the gun at Pivot again.
“No. Wait! I’ll tell you. We’re delivering a shipment for someone,” Pivot pleaded.
“What shipment?” Kip asked. “Normally you guys do your deals at the docks.”
Pivot shook shit head. “This is different. Special buyer. Never seen them before, but Lupo insists that if we mess this up, we’ll end up in the furnace.”
Van stepped around Maza to look down the dark passage that Pivot had been hiding in. She peered down the hall, her head cocked to the side. A distant laugh echoed off the walls. Molly.
Maza glanced over at Van, then back to Pivot. “You didn’t happen to see a little girl run through here, did you?”
“No.” He grunted as Maza pressed against his throat. “But we could hear someone in the tunnels, so we went looking and found you.”
“I think we found where she went,” Van said, pointing down the side tunnel.
Maza let go of Pivot. “Then let’s not keep her waiting.”
17|The Lost Creator
Adal couldn’t breathe. He coughed, trying to clear his lungs of dust, but he only managed to inhale more.
Next to him, Arija coughed and rolled to her side.
Adal slid over and rubbed her back. “Are you okay?”
“Pristine,” she wheezed. “Nothing says cardio like running from a giant mechanical tarantula and trying not to get curb-stomped.”
Pulling himself to his feet, Adal finally got a look at their shelter. Parts from the door the Umar had destroyed littered the ground. The light above them flickered, sending a cast of demonic shadows shuttering across the walls.
Small bolts and debris jumped and rattled on the ground as the Umar smashed into the crumpled mass of metal that used to be a door. Adal watched as the ruined entryway shook with the impact. Ypsilon hadn’t made it in. “You think she…?”
Arija stood, but didn’t reply.
Ypsilon could handle anything. She was probably the one throwing the Umar against the door.
“I don’t know,” Arija finally said, pulling Adal from his thoughts.
“We need to check. We can’t just leave her out there. She’s one of us.” Adal started toward the door.
Arija grabbed his arm.
Taking a long draw of breath and holding it, Adal looked at the ground. He shook his head.
“We can’t,” she began, “the Umar destroyed the door and, even if we could pry it open, I don’t have any more ammo. All we've got left is sarcasm and foul language.”
“What, do you mean that stuff won’t work?” Adal shot back. “That’s half my schtick.”
Arija gave him a sad half smile. “Ypsilon will be fine. She’s the strongest person I know.”
Adal didn’t answer. He kept staring at the door like he was going to use a Jedi mind trick to will it open.
“Adal, look.”
At the sound of his girlfriend’s concerned voice, Adal turned towards her.
The room they occupied was a lot smaller than he originally thought. On the other side was another set of doors, left slightly ajar. Adal narrowed his eyes as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Between the doors, a crumpled mass sat partially crushed.
He followed Arija as she walked to the doors. His brain tried to form an image of what had happened. The crumpled mass looked like one of the mechanical suits the Aparat guards wore. It almost seemed like someone tried to make their way through the door, but something forced it closed before they could make it all the way out. Before they could escape.
Goose bumps raced down Adal’s arms.
Something bad happened here.
As they approached the suit, Adal realized rust covered the entire surface. Some of the older parts of the Machine down by the Roost had rust, but nothing this degraded. “What the hell?” Adal leaned down to inspect the decayed suit. “It looks like it’s been here for centuries. How is this possible?” He stood. “You think anyone is still here?”
“Sure.” Arija rolled her eyes. “I bet Pajak likes to hang out in here on his days off.”
Adal snorted. “Yeah, yeah.” H
e leaned forward to peer through the gap. A dim light illuminated the room beyond. Several similar suits were piled one on top of another in the center of the room, but it didn’t look like there was anything else in there. “It looks like this was the last stand.”
Arija stepped beside him and put her face to the crack in the door. “Adal, do you see that?”
Adal pressed his face to the crack next to Arija’s. There was something at the far end of the room he hadn't noticed before, but a veil of dust and debris prevented him from identifying it. He squinted, trying to get a better look. Adal jumped back. “It moved.”
“What?” Arija pressed closer to the crack.
“Do you see it?”
The building shook with a violent impact, sending Adal’s heart into his throat.
“I see that.” Arija pointed across the room through a small crack in the door the Umar had destroyed. The Umar was stomping and charging the far side of the door.
Adal turned to Arija. “Next plan?”
“Maybe we should see if there’s another way out in the other room?” Arija whispered.
Soot fell from the ceiling as the Umar charged the door again. The ruined door whined as the metal twisted and turned, bending inward.
Groaning with frustration, Adal turned and made his way through the gap into the next room with Arija behind him. The dim light made it difficult to see if anyone was hiding behind the decayed suits scattered around the room. At the far side of the space, something big stood in shadow.
“So now what?” Adal asked, looking around. “I don’t see another way out.”
Arija glared at him.
“What?”
She sighed. “If there was anyone in here, they now know we’re here,” Arija whispered. She paused before adding, “we need to check out whatever that is.” She pointed at the hulking shadow. “It’s alive, but I don’t know why it’s not coming after us.”
Ypsilon and the Plague Doctor Page 13