by J. A. Scorch
The hybrid tried to stop the grenade with its armor, but the explosion was too much for its system to sustain. A few more hits from his rifle finished the job. It wasn't until then that he realized Mish hadn't fired her grenade.
Turning to face the sight before him, he witnessed Mish charging at the hybrid with her bare hands. "What the hell?" Teve asked. He fired every bullet in his magazine at the hybrid, clipping it in the side of its body. The abomination dropped to the ground in a heap as a mixture of human and Zeal blood gushed out.
Not taking any chances, Teve slapped in another magazine and moved in with his rifle aimed at the dead creature in case it still had some fight left in it.
Mish ran up to the hybrid and started kicking its corpse. She screamed louder and louder with every strike. The razor blades poking out of its body began to break apart her hardened tactical boots. If Teve didn't stop her fruitless attack, she would cut right through to her skin.
"Stop," he said as he struggled to pull her back from the body. Mish was always tough, but now that she had the nanites, she was an even match to his strength in every possible way. Mish flexed her muscles and locked her posture tight as she threw her head backward and cracked Teve in the nose. He felt and heard the sickening sound of bone on bone, but nothing broke.
With blood seeping out of his nose for a few seconds, he decided to let her go before she got the urge to hit him a second time and do some real damage. Mish dropped down to the ground and scurried over to the hybrid, determined to keep fighting the beast with only her hands and feet.
After a few more pointless strikes from her damaged shoes, something activated in her brain when she suddenly stopped and broke down into tears.
Teve ever so gently placed a hand on her back. "Care to explain what's going on?"
She tried to wave him away. "Just leave me here."
An audible huff came out of Teve's nose. "I don't think so. Now, what the heck is going on? I thought you were supposed to be the stable one of the two of us?"
Mish stopped crying and pulled herself together long enough to look into Teve's eyes. They were bleary red as if she'd been leaking battery acid.
"As soon as I saw that hybrid in the window, it spoke to me. It said things no one could possibly know, things that not even you know about me. It wouldn't stop, even when I shot at it."
Teve tried to act surprised. He didn't want to tell her he was experiencing a similar thing, but there was no point hiding it.
"I hear the voices, too," he said. "They don't say things about my past, though. Instead, the hybrid that almost killed me in Los Angeles speaks to me and tries to fill my head with lies."
"Jesus," Mish said, lowering her head.
"Yeah, it's not ideal."
"How long has this been going on?"
Teve paused a moment. He knew he should have said something to Mish straight away, but it was a hard subject to bring up organically. "When we both woke up in the Zeal base."
"And you didn't tell me?" Mish asked as her brow screwed up tight. Her head shook as she held her gaze with her mouth half open. "Why would you keep that from me?"
"I didn't want to, trust me. I thought I was protecting you from whatever was happening. I guess I was wrong." He waved a hand toward the hybrid corpse.
Mish covered her face with both hands as Sutton came slowly up to their position. "Report, dammit. Why are we out in the middle of this place sitting over one of these dead things?"
"It's a long story, sir, but we should probably get moving before—"
Several iron bolts sailed overhead, barely missing the three. Teve felt the heat on the shots fired from the first four Stiltz to enter the area. They were not alone, either. At least three other groups followed behind.
"Time to go, Mish," Teve yelled. She was already on her feet before he grabbed her by the sleeve. She fired a few short bursts at the first Stilt and hit it directly in the chest. Sparks showered out as she backed up while firing some more. After a full magazine had drained, the first one was down.
"We can't take them all on," Teve said as he moved Sutton along and away from the Stiltz' active range. She was lagging too far behind trying to take on the dozens of approaching Zeal.
"Just leave me," she shouted while squeezing the trigger. More bullets charged out of her weapon and took down another Stilt. Its comrades continued to advance and shoot. Their iron bolts were getting closer to hitting their target.
"We're going now," Teve said as he grabbed Mish by the arm. She shrugged him off and shoved him away a moment before one of the bolts stabbed into his chest, hitting him on the right side of his body. The energy from the shot sent him stumbling backward as both of his eyes popped open wide, appealing to Mish for help. Before she could react, another bolt slammed into his arm and knocked him to the ground.
Chapter Twenty-One
"What do you mean, Teve's dying?" Porter asked the general. His voice was a little louder than was deemed acceptable, but he needed to discern what Miller was on about.
"It means exactly as it sounds. Your brother is slowly dying. The nanites in his system are killing him."
Porter shook his head with closed eyes for a brief moment as he tried to digest everything. "How can that be? I thought he was immune to the virus. I thought the nanites were supposed to make him more powerful and capable."
"He is immune, and the nanites have turned him into a super soldier unlike anything I've ever seen."
"But?" Porter added, trying to move Miller along.
"But those abilities are coming at a cost. One we didn't see from our initial test results early on in this mess."
"What's the cost?" Porter asked, getting close to the general.
"Well, ultimately death, but before that, he will begin to deteriorate from within as the nanites run out of things to alter and shape. Recent findings by the UEF have shown that all subjects who have managed to survive the Zeal virus will die a slow, painful death when the nanites inevitably turn on their host."
Porter didn't know what to say. He was only now beginning to understand Teve's capabilities. His eyes moved to the base, searching for answers that were not there.
"I realize this is not what you want to hear right now, Porter."
"You're damn straight I don't. We don't even know if he is alive out there, but you thought it would be a good idea to tell me he's screwed either way. How long has he got?"
Miller let out a long breath. "Anywhere from one to three months. Just depends on how far along he is with everything."
"One to three months? How long have you known about this?"
"I found out a few days ago. Every base commander across the globe did."
"And you still sent him out there?"
Miller's upper lip began to twitch. "What choice did I have? Frankly, if these SF soldiers are dying, we need to get them to kill as many Zeal as possible while they're still functional."
Porter felt his fist clench up. "Is that all any of them are to you? A tool to be utilized before it breaks? You make me sick, General." Porter tried to leave, but Miller held him up by blocking his steps with a single hand against his chest.
"You can't tell anyone about this, okay?"
"Understood, sir," Porter said through clenched teeth. "I've got better things to do. Besides, pretty soon the SF soldiers will all work it out and want blood."
Miller chuckled to himself.
"What could possibly be funny about this, General?"
"Oh, nothing, Porter. Or maybe it's that you think there's a way out of this. Let me tell you: there's not. Every infected soldier will die. The first lot are already dead. According to the reports, they all died several months ago. Officially, the brass marked them down as KIA, but the truth is, they've all died of massive organ failure at the hands of the nanites, and there's no way to stop them with our limited understanding of the virus. The only other way to keep them alive is to hit each SF soldier with more nanites, but that would result in them transformi
ng into hybrids."
Porter shook his head. "Jesus. So even if Teve can fight his way out of that city and make it all the way home, he'll be dead soon after?"
Miller slowly nodded his head.
Not wanting to speak with the general for another second, Porter stomped off and away from the man in charge. Miller moved out of the way enough for him to leave.
"Where are you going? I still need you to pilot one of those Dragonettes."
Stopping with his back to Miller, Porter spoke over his shoulder. "I'll fly your damn missions, General, but don't expect me to smile and thank you for it."
"I never would, Captain. If you're anything like your brother, and I'm starting to see that you are, I've come to realize just how stubborn you people are."
Porter turned around and faced Miller as he continued.
"Don't do anything stupid trying to save your brother, Captain. There's no need for both of you to die." Miller held his stare long enough for Porter to soak in his words. "Dismissed."
Porter spun around and headed back to base. The sunrise mission was only hours away, and he didn't plan on letting the opportunity pass by for him to find Teve and see his brother one last time before death came for them both.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Teve drifted in and out of consciousness as he felt his left shoulder pressing down hard over Mish's upper body. His blurring vision faded in and out as the doors and walls of a half-destroyed apartment complex whizzed by.
"What happened?" he asked Mish. His voice felt raspy and dry.
"Drink this," she said as she handed him some water from her gear. Teve grabbed the camouflaged bottle with his left hand and took in a few sips of cooled water. Never had it tasted so good in his life. It was then that he noticed the two iron bolts sticking out of his body. One had hit him in the right-hand-side of his chest, while the other poked out of his right bicep. There was little to no pain in his body.
"What did you give me for this?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Like painkillers."
"Nothing yet, sorry. We barely escaped from the Stiltz out there." Teve spotted Sutton ahead, holding his rifle. It took him a moment to remember what had happened.
"How did you—"
"Doesn't matter now. We have to keep moving. They are on our asses. We can't stop to give you a morphine shot. At least not yet."
"It's okay," Teve said. "I can't feel anything. I think the nanites are doing their thing. It's not the first time I've been hit with one of these things."
"I know, Teve," she said.
Before he had nanites managing his wound, Teve got shot by a bolt in front of Mish. He felt the full impact of the alien technology. Back then, the bolt had gone clean through his armor and shoulder, disabling it and filling his body with agonizing pain that only a potent combination of drugs could combat. Now, the two bolts stuck in his body barely hurt beyond a slight tickle. He could also move his arm a lot easier.
"I think I can walk myself," he said as he removed his left forearm from around Mish's shoulder.
"Good. We need to get a move on if we're ever going to avoid being overrun by our friends outside." She moved toward Sutton. "Lieutenant," she shouted to get his attention.
The officer swiveled around, looking even more stressed out than before. "What is it, Sergeant?"
"How about you drop back and let me take point. You can keep Teve company."
Sutton didn't argue with Mish's suggestive order. He slowed up back toward Teve as they moved through a long corridor.
"I'll take my rifle, if that's okay with you, sir?" Teve asked. Sutton handed it over, almost happy to not be the one needing to take on the Zeal when they inevitably turned up next.
As Teve accepted the weapon back, one of his bolts popped out and clanged on the floor. The length of iron that had been in his right arm came out in one piece as if someone had pushed it out. Teve immediately inspected his wound in the limited light the moon provided as it came down through large holes in the roof. A reddened hole existed where the bolt had stabbed him and was beginning to heal before his eyes. The other bolt wouldn't be far off from doing the same.
When Teve raised his head back up, he noticed Sutton staring at him as if he had just seen the devil. "I told you, Lieutenant, we are a rare breed." Teve slapped him on the shoulder as he stepped past the bewildered man. "Come on, sir," he called back to the officer.
Sutton followed along and muttered away to himself. He'd apparently never witnessed any of the SF soldiers’ abilities in action. Rapid healing was one feature that few of the regulars ever saw.
"Where are we?" Teve asked ahead to Mish. She was moving at a slow but steady pace. The building was fragile. It wasn't uncommon for a soldier to fall through a weakened floor to their death, especially in the larger concrete apartment complexes.
"Past the building with the hybrids. This complex connected to it, so I went around. Didn't want to risk running into more of those damn things. I also tricked the Stiltz into thinking we went up a few floors. We'll be long gone by the time they realize."
"Smart move. How'd you manage that?"
Mish turned back to Teve with a smile without slowing down. "I ran inside and charged up a few levels while Sutton dragged your ass out the side exit of the building. I shot down on the Stiltz and bolted back to the ground floor before they got there and ran out the side."
Teve chuckled as he pictured Mish confusing the Stiltz. With the ability to run almost twice as fast as normal, the two were always tricking the Zeal with simple tactics.
"Good job. You saved my ass once again."
Sutton cleared his throat audibly.
"Oh, sorry. You too, sir. I owe you both for saving me. Thank you."
Mish laughed under her breath. "Don't mention it. I've lost count how many times we've saved one another."
"It's a bit that way. So where are we heading now?" he asked.
Mish let out a huff of cold night air. "No idea. Just thought we'd get through this long building and see what kind of crap awaits us on the other side."
"Sounds like a plan," Teve said. He checked the time on his e-slate in the dark. It was early morning. The comms network still showed up on his screen as being offline. Their only hope now was to get Sutton and his beacon closer to a safer pick-up point. Command would see that Sutton was on the move, but one pilot was still not worth the risk.
After ten more minutes of slow, deliberate movement, Mish found the exit to the compound through a large hole in the building's front. The puncture in the structure flowed down a rubble pile to a cracked street free of any Zeal.
"This way," she said with a hint of excitement in her voice.
Teve was beginning to feel better. The second bolt had fallen out of its own accord, allowing the nanites to get to the task of repairing the damage. He wondered what the tiny, alien creatures did to fix such a damaging wound. The superheated iron bolts typically left their victims in a bad way if the ammunition didn't punch clean through. He only hoped that the millions of nanites in his system weren't altering his body beyond reason. It was severe enough he and Mish were each hearing voices in their heads. He didn't want to imagine the next level of control they would both lose if the nanites were to take over completely.
"The street looks pretty clear apart from one patrol in the distance," Mish said before she moved down the pile of broken wall to the next piece of cover. "They shouldn't be a problem, though."
Teve scuttled down the debris after her and was followed by Sutton a moment later. He kept low and out of sight by a half-exploded Humvee and guided Sutton over to do the same. Mish was at the front of the car, scanning ahead for trouble without the use of her scope.
The wind began to kick up a little as a distant cloud rolled in to cover the moonlight. A flash storm was coming and would hit the city within the hour.
"Just what we need," Teve said. "Even if we find a safe location for pick-up, that weather will delay any e
ffort on Command's behalf."
Mish half-turned back to Teve. "Should we find some shelter, then? The lieutenant doesn't have any wet-weather gear."
Teve nodded. He and Mish had combat raincoats they could layer on top of themselves. Sutton was in a basic flight suit that was designed to be somewhat fire resistant and nothing else.
The three hopped from one cover to the next until Mish found a suitable spot to hide out from the Zeal and the pending storm. The dark clouds had all met at the city's edge and were preparing to unleash their fury on Atlanta in one big line of raw power.
Mish led them into a shelled-out café building and moved into a room that was once a kitchen. The back area of the restaurant still had a roof and no windows for snooping Zeal drones to spy into. The three could hide out from any dangers lurking outside until the storm rolled through.
Sutton sat down on a still intact chair he found in the front of the café. Mish went for a small storage freezer while Teve was happy to sit against the wall on the ground. As one, they let the day claim them.
"How did I end up down here?" Sutton blurted.
Teve and Mish glanced at one another, unsure if the lieutenant meant to say those words out loud.
"I'd never even been on Earth before the war. Mars is my home. I should be up there protecting her from the Zeal."
Teve saw that Mish was ready to explode, so he signaled for her to let the comment slide. He focused his attention on Sutton and attempted to diffuse the situation. "You are defending your home, sir," he said. "Earth is as much your home as is Mars."
A scoff popped out of Sutton's mouth. "I don't think so, Master Sergeant. If Command never ordered me down here, I would never have stepped foot on this rock. Hell, even if the Zeal didn't exist, you couldn't have paid me to come to Earth."
"What's your damn problem?" Mish asked before adding, "Sir?"
Sutton stared her down. "My problem is insubordination, Staff Sergeant."
Mish stood from the freezer in a flash.