Cultwick: The Sweeper Bot Plague

by Stone, J.

  “Normally, Germ,” Rowland responded with an excited smile. “But I fixed that.”

  Germ frowned and asked, “Are you once again toying with things man wasn’t meant to play with, sir?”

  Rowland simply shrugged his shoulders and tottered his hand up and down.

  “Regardless, sir, I noticed Madam Stilts is no longer with you. Do you have any idea where she may have gone?” Germ asked.

  Rowland concentrated, as his face contorted, trying to remember. “Something about food, if I remember correctly,” he said.

  “Perhaps she will require help preparing it,” Germ suggested. “I’ll see if I can lend a hand.”

  Rowland nodded and turned back to his equipment, as Germ once again began wandering the ship. This time he found himself looking for a kitchen or dining area. He glanced along the walls he passed hoping to find another map of the skyship’s layout, but he never found another one.

  He eventually made his way into the deepest layer of the ship, passing by a storage area that reeked like the bodies they found in the Cultwick City sewers. Out of curiosity, Germ stuck in his head, but the room was dark and crates were stacked up to the ceiling. He could hear a soft humming noise, but he attributed it to the sound of the engines.

  He left the room and continued his search for the kitchen. Germ passed several small bedrooms as well as a common area that eventually led into a large kitchen. Eva was working tirelessly to set out foods, dishes, and beverages.

  “Germ, wasn’t it?” she asked, seeing him coming.

  “That’s correct, ma’am,” he replied.

  “Breakfast is going to be a while,” she said.

  “Oh, no, ma’am,” Germ began. “I thought I would lend you a hand.”

  Eva smiled and said, “Well, aren’t you sweet? You could peel those potatoes if you’re so inclined.”

  “Of course, ma’am. I just hope they’re not carnivorous” he replied and he set to the task.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Um, never mind, ma’am,” he answered. “You seem to know this ship fairly well. How is that? I thought this was an empire vessel.”

  “It is,” she answered. “But Samuel was the primary engineer when they developed it. That was almost twenty years ago now, back before this horrible plague came west.”

  “Hopefully that will be ending soon, ma’am,” Germ said finishing one of the potatoes and starting another.

  “Yes, Samuel mentioned you lot had a cure for it,” she said. “How’s that even possible?”

  “It seems the empire’s had a cure this whole time,” he explained. “The others seem to think they’ve kept it to themselves to make a profit.”

  “That’s just horrible,” Eva said shaking her head. “It’s good that people like you are doing this.”

  “It’s mostly the others, ma’am,” Germ replied.

  “You’re here, you’re helping,” she said. “Don’t count yourself short, Germ.”

  He had not really considered himself a part of the rebellion or any of the things Erynn or Rowland had been doing. Germ found himself feeling as more of a member than a subordinate for once, and he felt good about that.

  The ship soon arrived in Chrome City, and Hirim and Samuel left to retrieve his rebel forces. Germ stayed behind with Eva to help prepare a meal for the whole group, while Rowland continued his work in the makeshift lab.

  Eventually Hirim and Samuel returned with a large group of rebels in tow. Samuel and a few other men helped crew the skyship on its journey toward Willow Switch, while Germ and Eva served the meal to the rest of the men.

  Germ waited to eat until the rest of the rebels had finished. Rowland was sitting with him reading from a book that he had found in one of the cabins, as he heaved spoonfuls of the stew into his mouth absentmindedly. Germ scribbled notes in his journal detailing their escape from the Center for Empirical Research, their journey from Cultwick City to the western frontier, the bank robbery, and more recently the safe return of Eva and the other family members the corpsmen had abducted.

  He made the final changes to details concerning the ‘Ruby of the Skies,’ as one of the rebels soon busted into the quiet dining area shouting, “Samuel sent me! We’ve arrived at the train, but there might be a problem. A woman is hanging from the side of one of the cars!”

  Chapter 30. Ryn the Hijacker

  Erynn quickly crossed the gap of the military car, stepping over bodies of unconscious corpsmen. The wind roared past the train, as all the windows in the room were open. She found the walker smoke bomb toys scattered about the room and picked them up as she went past.

  Next, she went to the first of the passenger cars. A woman was walking toward her, and when she saw Erynn, the woman ducked into a crevice in the hallway.

  As she passed her, Erynn tipped her hat and told her, “Routine patrol, ma’am.”

  Laughing to herself, Erynn continued through the other two passenger cars with no interaction. She looked through some of the windows as she went, but most were either unoccupied or the occupants were busying themselves and failed to notice her.

  She wondered whether the operative would stay in the cage that she had locked her inside. Rowland had warned her once before how dangerous operatives could be, and this one had certainly proven quite deadly.

  Erynn wasn’t entirely sure why she had gone back to face the operative and the torturer, but she knew it was something she had to do. The bastard that kept slicing her deserved worse than being thrown from the train, she thought. She looked down at her forearm to where her tattoo had once been, and found herself still full of rage.

  Alice being trapped in that cage helped, Erynn thought, but in a way, she hoped the woman would get free. That way she could further hurt her and get her revenge.

  She decided, however, that instead of focusing on her fleeting revenge that she should keep her mind on the train. Getting the medical supplies aboard would put an end to the Sweeper Bot Plague once and for all.

  That girl she met back in Dust Grove, Vincent, and all the nameless, faceless citizens of Cultwick City living in the slums would be freed. It would also put a major dent in the empire’s financial gains.

  Erynn traveled through the last passenger car, and she was preparing to enter the dining car. It appeared to her that when Vincent and the others had come through that they had caused quite a ruckus. The entire area had been cleared out, and she presumed that anyone inside had gone back to their room.

  Tables were knocked over, food was scattered on the ground, and glasses and plates were shattered on the floor. Her boots crunched the glass as she walked briskly through the car. As she approached the security car, her insides retched and twisted painfully. She dropped to the floor, as the genotoxin worked its way through her system. Erynn took several deep breaths and tried to get the pain under control.

  She could hear gunshots coming from the next railcar and knew she had to keep moving. Slowly, she stood and exited the dining car, where she met a rush of wind that helped cool her down and take her mind off the pain. Carefully she entered the next car and ducked down behind a knocked over table, where Vincent, Pearl, and Lucy were also hiding.

  “What happened to the plan?” she asked, looking to Vincent.

  “Your damn contraption malfunctioned,” he shouted over the gunfire.

  “What?” she asked. “That thing should have worked great. Did it not go off?”

  “I threw it, and it exploded,” Lucy began to explain, “but the electricity didn’t have enough of a damn charge to take any of them out.”

  “Maybe it needs a stronger power generator,” she thought aloud. “Or maybe a different conductor? I suppose there could have been a problem with--”

  “Clover!” Vincent shouted over the gunfire. “Maybe you could figure that out later. We’ve got a bunch of guys shooting at us right now.”

  Groaning, Erynn asked, “How many are there?”

  “We’ve already taken out three,”
Vincent said. “Think there’s at least five more. The problem is the remaining ones have full body armor. Stronger than standard corps armor. Our shots aren’t making it through. This isn’t going to work.”

  “So, kid-fucking-genius,” Lucy began, firing off a couple more shots and then looking at Erynn. “What’s the plan now?”

  Erynn looked around the area for a solution to present itself. She spotted a cabinet on the side of the railcar and opened it to reveal an array of power tools and other mechanic’s items. Among the selection was an industrial sized rivet gun. She pulled the tool from the shelf it laid on and fired it into the floor of the train. The rivet whizzed easily through the floor, leaving a flat rivet fully pressed into the metal.

  “What are you doing?” Vincent asked angrily.

  “Hang on!” Erynn shouted back. “I got an idea.”

  She pulled the pieces of the rivet gun apart, splaying them about on the shaky floor of the train. Grabbing additional scraps of metal from the cabinet, she began to construct a new weapon. What she created was a large two-hand, pneumatic powered, rivet rifle.

  Handing the weapon to Vincent, she said, “Here. Try this.”

  The bounty hunter raised an eyebrow warily but took the device regardless. He holstered his revolver and rested the rivet rifle on the edge of the table. He raised enough to see his targets, aimed, and quickly fired a shot into one of the corpsmen. The gunfire from the security team briefly stopped, as one of the guards fell to the floor.

  Erynn peeked over the table, and said with a tone of surprise in her voice, “Guess it worked.”

  Vincent made quick work of the remaining guards with the powerful rivet gun, and they stood from behind their cover.

  Pearl turned back toward the dining car, and said, “Looks like we got more company, y’all.”

  They all looked back to see the group of corpsmen awake and quickly approaching them. Vincent aimed the rivet gun at the corpsmen and pulled the trigger, but it sputtered and failed to fire.

  “Uh, I think you’re out of gas,” Erynn explained. “Don’t worry. I have another idea.”

  “Your ideas scare me, Clover,” Vincent replied looping the rivet gun to a strap on his belt and pulling out his pistol.

  “Heh, right?” she agreed. “Just hold ‘em off a minute.”

  They all moved behind the cover the security had previously occupied, and Erynn picked up her failed pyramid grenade as they moved. She pulled the case off the side of the device and fiddled with some of the wires.

  “I can fix this!” she shouted mostly to herself.

  The guards, meanwhile, had entered the railcar, taken cover behind the overthrown table, and begun firing. Vincent, Lucy, and Pearl returned fire as Erynn worked on her grenade.

  Erynn pulled one of the wind-up toys from her pocket and disassembled it as well. She took parts from it and placed them inside the pyramid. Finally, she removed the winder from the spherical toy and inserted it into the grenade. After winding it, she leaned out from cover and tossed the grenade toward the corpsmen.

  As the pyramid-shaped grenade exploded in mid-air, Erynn saw behind the corpsmen the operative, Alice Page. Electricity shot from the device and struck all the soldiers and Alice. Aside from the enduring operative, all the targets fell, and the gunfire ceased. Alice’s skin was severely burned by the shock, and she leaned against the wall of the train to steady herself.

  Vincent led the others from the security railcar, toward the chromite cars. Vincent and Lucy continued on to one of the cars carrying a shipment of raw chromite, having to cross a narrow path along either side of the freighter.

  As Erynn approached the chromite car, a tendril grabbed her ankle and knocked her to the ground. She made a thudding sound as she landed and groaned from the pain. Erynn looked back to see the operative already regenerated and only looking angrier. In addition to the tentacles, and instead of her previous blade arm, she had mutated her left fist into a giant mallet of pulp, bone, and gore.

  Pearl looked back as well and saw the hideous sight behind them. As the tentacle once again dragged Erynn towards the operative, Pearl fired her shotgun twice. Both blasts hit the mutated woman hard, and the second actually caused her to be tossed backward from the force.

  Erynn stood back up with help from Pearl, and the pair ran toward the back of the car. Each took an opposite side of the chromite railcar and began sidestepping along the outside of the freighter. Erynn saw the operative stand back up, running toward them at full speed.

  Instead of edging along the side as the others had, Alice jumped up to the top of the freighter. Erynn lost sight of her after the jump, so she frantically hurried along the side. From above, the disgusting fist came hurtling toward her head, but Vincent fired a shot from his rifle, causing the operative to stagger backward.

  Erynn made it to the far side of the second chrome-hauling car and looked up to Vincent, who tossed her a metal tool. He and Lucy had managed to climb on top of the medical freighter, where they continued firing shots at Alice.

  The chromesmith clamped down the tool on a bolt that held the two train cars together and began to rotate it as quickly as she could. The operative screamed from above, as she was continually fired upon.

  From the other side of the train, Erynn heard Pearl call out, “Ryn!”

  She left the tool where it was, and hurried around to that side of the car. When she saw around the edge, she could see that the operative had managed to smash part of the chrome freighter with her pulp fist, preventing Pearl from continuing along the side. Chunks of chromite poured out steadily from the hole between them.

  Erynn looked back to Vincent and Lucy and yelled, “Keep her off me! And get her away from Pearl!”

  She jumped up and grabbed the edge of the freighter, pulling herself on top. The force of the wind was too great for her to try standing, and she noted that Alice was only able to do so by using her tentacles to hold on to the sides of the train. The operative raised her pulp fist, preparing to slam down at Pearl, but Erynn pulled her pistol out and fired until it was empty. Alice slipped backward, allowing Erynn to reach Pearl. She holstered her pistol back at her belt and then held out one arm to Pearl, using the other to steady herself on the edge of the train.

  “Take my arm!” she yelled down to Pearl.

  After she had taken a firm grip, Erynn pulled Pearl up to the top of the train with her. The operative continued getting closer to the pair, so Erynn grabbed Pearl’s shotgun and fired at the monstrosity.

  Erynn slid slowly backward on the top of the train, while Pearl crawled forward. Erynn continued firing shots at the operative, aiming for the tentacles, hoping to cause her to lose her balance. After a series of well-placed shots, Alice staggered backward when one of her tendrils was severed from her body.

  Against the heavy winds, Pearl and Erynn eventually arrived at the intersection between the medical and chrome car. Erynn gave Pearl her shotgun back, after she helped her onto the medical car to join Vincent and Lucy. Despite their coordinated efforts, Alice continued to make progress toward their group.

  Below the gunfire, Erynn focused on unlatching the two railcars. She rotated the tool in quick, successive semi-circles, pulling the tool up and then quickly re-attaching it to the bolt holding the railcars together. It was a half dozen more twists before she had finally unclasped the bolt. She pulled the bolt out completely, tossing it off the side of the train, and the two cars began to slowly separate.

  She jumped to the medical car, but Alice caught up with her. The operative jumped down to where the chrome car had previously latched to the medical car and loosed her tentacles at Vincent, Lucy, and Pearl. She managed to knock them all back, stopping their barrage of bullets. Alice took a moment to compose herself, reforming her hand from the mutations, and then jumped to the medical car.

  The extreme winds, however, caught her and she was unable to completely close the gap. Alice grabbed Erynn’s leg, while half her body hung from the front of t
he train car. The operative slowly slipped under the train, pulling Erynn with her, as she fell.

  From above Erynn could hear the sound of another steam engine, and a shadow passed over the railcar. When she looked up, she saw a giant skyship hovering in the air. Hanging from the window of a small cabin near the bottom Rowland and Germ helplessly looked down, as the scene unfolded.

  Erynn grabbed her pistol from her belt and pulled the trigger, as she realized it was empty. The operative cackled madly, as they were both pulled further off the front of the railcar. A loud bang sounded next to them, however, as the insane experiment, Fiona landed on the train.

  With a mechanical hand, Fiona grabbed Alice by the neck, pulling her up above the train. The operative released Erynn’s leg, as Fiona slowly choked the life from her. The operative’s eyes grew increasingly bloodshot, as she struggled to breathe. Fiona smiled widely, seeing the woman suffer, but instead of killing her with her own hand, the experiment dropped Alice, so that she fell under the train.

  Erynn could hear the operative screaming, while the wheels of the train crushed her bones and ripped her body to pieces. Fiona turned to Erynn, still slumped against the wall of the medical supply railcar.

  She leaned down and said, “Don’t worry. She won’t hurt you anymore, Ryn. None of them will hurt you when I’m finished with them.”

  Before Erynn could say anything, however, Fiona jumped from the front of the car with an uncanny agility and landed on the other section of train, as the medical railcar slowed.

  She let forth a sigh of relief, but soon remembered that Alice had attacked Pearl and the others atop the railcar. She climbed up to the top of the medical car to find Vincent and Pearl pulling Lucy up from the side of the freighter. Erynn smiled to them as the train slowly came to a stop.

  The skyship landed next to the train, and a ramp descended from the vessel. Out came Rowland, Germ, Hirim and a slew of other rebels.

  “Did you see where that woman came from?” Erynn asked, as she jumped down from the train.