by M. Lorrox
“You’re blocking me! Move right!”
My right or yours? Owen takes a chance and jumps to the right as Gabriel also jumps to the right. Gabriel has a shot, and he takes it. -Brrittt! BOOM!-
Owen’s drone pulls off the attack and flies backward as it arcs. “Oh no you don’t!” He fires a burst, but he misses. He shakes his head as the drone retreats out of range. “They’re playing with us.”
Hecate nods, squinting into the sky. “Yes, they are.”
Gabriel motions to the shore. “Owen, zombie. You take it, I’ll take your drone.”
“Done.” Owen takes aim at the zombie, but when it stops in front of an equipment crate like it was reading it, Owen hesitates. Huh? Then he sees the metal of the skullcap slowly turn to one side, bringing a growling zombie face with it. No way... He watches as the zombie starts moving again, then the skullcap and head move to the other side. “They control which way the zombie is looking with the head-armor.”
Hecate tracks her drone. “Who cares? Kill it.”
Gabriel glances to the shore. “It’s by the equipment. If you kill it, it could damage our gear.”
Hecate drops her gun from the drone. “Bloody hell, I’ll take out its legs. Owen, watch my drone.” -Brrrittt!- Two of her three bullets hit their marks on the zombie’s hip and side. The other bullet misses entirely, but the zombie drops. And done.
When the opening of the head armor is pointed toward the ground at a 45-degree angle, the explosives are remotely triggered. The head was angled toward an equipment case marked ‘Medical,’ and the explosion was timed to direct the blast straight at it. -Boom!-
Hecate doubletakes. “Huh? Those wounds weren’t mortal... Oh fuck me—they blew it to take out our gear! Goddamn them!” She sees another zombie come stumbling forward, and this time, she doesn’t hesitate. She also doesn’t aim for the legs or hips, she aims for the shoulders and head. The bullets dent in the armor, then pierce through it, and the charge behind the zombie’s skull explodes.
Owen and Gabriel end up pointing their guns at each other again, and without a word, they each jump right to find their targets. Owen trips and falls, but manages not to fall into the water or drop his gun. He lands on his side and maintains his aim at the dive-bombing drone, and he fires. -Brrrittt!-
One bullet tears off a motor-supporting arm of the frame, and the drone spins as it drops. It doesn’t detonate yet though—its operator knows it’s still fifty feet out of its guaranteed wound-radius.
It falls another thirty feet before Owen can fire at it again, and it explodes. He winces as a pellet buries itself into his thigh and another three ricochet off the boat’s armor plating.
Gabriel follows the last drone. Come any closer, and you’re mine.
As Ghost makes her way toward the base and rendezvous point, she hears gunshots and explosions in the distance. She’s tired from her long hike, but she still quickens her pace. When she reaches the wide clearing that Stephanie and Balena fought in, she’s confronted with the evidence of the battle: zombie corpses, holes blown in the ground, and blood everywhere. Again, she finds herself quickening her pace.
When she’s only a minute away from breaking out of the forest and into the area where the rest of the team should be, she hears something that renders her immobile. She hears something that lies between a scream, a yell, and an earth-shaking declaration of rage coming from the north, up the side of the mountain.
That’s Charlie... Something is very, very wrong.
She sprints up the mountain toward the sound and cannot help but feel a sense of dread.
When she reaches the flat ground beside an outcropping, her hands drop to her sides, and her mouth drops with her chin. Before her, Charlie sits on the ground, cradles his teenage son in his lap, and weeps. She swallows. “Sir?”
Charlie raises his head and meets her gaze with two fireballs in his eye sockets. Snot runs down his face, and spittle flies from his mouth as he shouts, “THEY TOOK HIS HANDS!”
Ghost’s eyes flee from Charlie’s face, and they settle on Eddy. Charlie has his son’s arms crossed in front of his body, both hands are cut off and both stumps of his arms have tourniquets. They took them? Away? She shakes her head. “Who?” She looks back at Charlie, and as he locks his eyes on her, she feels her own anger fuel an energy for revenge. “WHERE?”
Charlie grits his teeth. “Johannes I think. July is missing too. The trail is behind me.”
He... That... She takes a huge breath and gives Charlie’s earlier scream a run for its money. Then, she takes off, tearing past Charlie and onto the trail leading away.
As she sprints with energy she thought was expended, she hears Charlie screaming behind her.
“You kill him! Bring back July!”
She follows the trail for two minutes at her full sprint, making far better time than Johannes did with July on his back. As the trail loops around the side of the mountain, she hears a helicopter flying overhead. It’s headed in the same direction she is, and although she’s sprinting as fast as she can, it’s much faster.
She reaches a ravine and leaps across, not taking the time to find the trail again at the other side but instead following the helicopter. If it’s not to pick him up, then he’s stuck on the ground…with us.
Ahead of her lies a foothill, and she loses sight of the helicopter beyond it. When she reaches the top, the helicopter is climbing again, having just briefly dropped down to the ground. She draws the pistol Balena insisted she bring along on her scouting mission. Without a moment’s hesitation, she unloads the hand-cannon’s entire clip of ten .45 ACP rounds at the helicopter while it’s still close to the ground.
At her distance, it would be an impressive feat just to hit the target at all, and she hits it twice. Neither round, however, does enough damage to keep the helicopter from soaring off. Ghost watches it fly away as she murders it with her eyes.
She re-holsters the pistol and turns. Then, she trudges back to Charlie to tell him that whoever maimed, disfigured, and stole parts of his son has gotten away.
Ghost returns to where she found Charlie, and all she now finds is matted grass and spilled blood. She makes her way to the rendezvous point, and she sees Owen swimming from the boat. His face is stone white and hollow, and a distant coldness floods his light-blue eyes, making them look icy.
When he stands in the shallow water and limps to shore, Ghost starts to jog over to help him, but he waves her away. “I’m okay, just a little hole in my leg.”
Ghost swallows. “I found Charlie with Leo... Is he on the boat?”
Right on cue, the hull of the boat bellows a thud from inside, and the water ripples from the twenty-two-ton ship shaking. Owen sighs and nods. “We had a lot of casualties.”
Ghost looks to the side to the debris from the exploded-open medical supplies crate and a few zombie corpses. “Don’t tell me who, just tell me what to do.”
He points to a crate. “Grab one, and swim it to the boat. We don’t want to risk losing any others.” He steps away from her and starts rifling through the mess on the ground, looking for parts of the device he and Stephanie were working on.
Ghost grabs a heavy equipment case and lifts it with ease. She notices that Owen is still rooting around through bandages, splints, and ripped-open blood packs. “What are you looking for? Anything specific needed for the casualties?”
He sighs. “I wish it were that easy.”
At the boat, Ghost is relieved to see her friend Hecate, even though her cheeks are wet with tears. “Can you grab this?” Ghost floats the case to her, and Hecate pulls it aboard. Then, Ghost climbs onto the ship and sees far fewer occupants on board than there were earlier that day. She looks at each one and sees varying amounts of pain on their faces, and when she doesn’t find Naga, she drops to her knees and sobs.
Hecate places her hand on Ghost’s shoul
der and takes a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry.”
Charlie is aware that Ghost has returned, but he doesn’t leave Eddy’s side. He turns to look at her, and he realizes that she couldn’t have succeeded in recovering July, killing whoever was responsible, and recovering Eddy’s hands. He returns his attention to his unconscious son.
Gabriel sits at Eddy’s other side, replacing the tourniquets Eddy’s attacker was kind enough to put on his arms. “These saved his life.”
Charlie stares a hole through Eddy, through the floor of the boat beneath him, through the earth and straight into Hell where he imagines Johannes’—his old friend Peter’s—face. “I suppose I should be grateful.”
Yes, you should be. Gabriel continues cleaning and bandaging Eddy’s wounds in silence.
Johannes carries July’s body through the halls of The Plant toward SeCComm’s Command Center. Lars walks down the hall in the opposite direction, beaming. “Excellent work, Johannes.”
“Mmm-hmm. Don’t call me that name. That operation is over.”
“And I hear it was a complete success.” He grins, and his eyes squint a little as he focuses on the girl in Peter’s arms. “And you brought me my favorite donor.” He also notices that Peter carries a bloody bag. Lars points at it with an inquisitive look.
“Charlie’s son got in my way, and I cut off his hands.”
Damn... “And you brought them as souvenirs?”
Peter turns his frown into a scowl. “No. I was hoping you could preserve them. When this is all over, maybe they can be put back on.”
Lars chuckles. “I suppose they could be a bargaining chip...” He turns to walk with Peter. “Bring her along, I’ve received orders—”
“No.” Peter plants his feet and glares at the doctor.
Lars sighs. “You forget your place, Peter.”
“I want to see my son.”
“Mmm, no.”
Peter shifts July onto one shoulder and frees one of his hands. “I’m in no rush, but you see, my hand is getting awfully tired of holding this grenade.”
Lars groans. That’s hardly a threat.
“I seemed to have lost the pin somewhere while I was stabbing my friends in the back.”
Lars shrugs. “That wasn’t my call, but they were your orders.”
“I want to see Nicholas, goddamn it!” Peter slips a finger in between the buttons on his shirt and rips it open. When the team was distracted, Johannes stole a pack of demolition explosives that he hid in his bag, and while he was on the helicopter with July, he taped it to his stomach. He holds the grenade in front of the explosives. “Bring me to my son!”
Lars grins at the sight before him. “I love working with professionals.” He walks over to an intercom on the wall and presses a button.
Hector’s voice comes through the tinny speaker. “SeCComm.”
“This is Melgaard, I’m here with Peter. He wants to see Nicholas, and he’s rigged himself with explosives.”
Hector holds down the button to transmit his laughter, then he releases the button and types a message on his computer.
@Command, grant Peter permission to visit Nicholas?
Hector holds the button down again and speaks into his microphone. “Checking, hold.”
Lars steps away from the intercom to shake out his legs. Someday I’ll get new ones, when my work here is done. He smiles.
“Approved. Peter, are you listening?”
Lars steps back to the intercom, holds in the button, and turns to Peter.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Command wants to congratulate you on your mission’s success.”
“Fine.”
“Also, know that you can spend as much time as you like with Nicholas tonight, because he’s being deployed at first light.”
Peter’s mouth drops, then he recovers and clears his throat. “Fine.”
Lars speaks into the intercom. “Thank you, SeCComm.” He lets go of the button and walks over to Peter. “Now about that pin.”
“It’s in my pocket, take her, and I’ll—”
Lars is shaking his head. “I can’t carry her. Come on.” He starts walking. “I was saying, I have orders to deliver her into Ms. Wollstone’s room.”
This time, Peter follows.
After handing July to the guards stationed outside Mary’s room, Peter fishes the grenade’s pin from his pocket.
Lars smiles. “It’s so lucky you still had that.”
“Mmm-hmm. Now bring me to Nicholas.” He waves the pin. “Then I’ll put this back where it belongs.”
Lars shakes his head, snaps his fingers, and points at the ceiling.
While every hallway of The Plant has security cameras, some of these cameras have robotically positioned guns beside them. The closest one to Peter pans and tilts to aim at him.
Peter scoffs as he holds up the grenade. “Kill me and I drop this.”
Lars nods. “Yes, but then you’d never see your son again. I can’t let you bring those explosives near him. So, either stick that grenade, up your fucking ass, or put the pin in it and hand it over with the bomb on your gut. You heard SeCComm; you have permission to see him.”
Peter glances up at the gun just over Lars’ shoulder—positioned like a little devil on a bigger devil. “Why should I trust you?”
He laughs. “Because, we’re on the same team, and we’re both following orders. Now stop being so dramatic.”
He sighs and drops his eyes. “SeCComm, I know you’re listening. If you fuck me on this, I won’t be there to help you thwart the next threat... And that team down by the water, they’re not done with you yet.” He places the pin in the grenade and hands it over.
Lars reaches forward and tears the explosives from his stomach, then he hands them to the guards. “Come on now, let’s go see your son... Oh, but let’s swing by my lab first and put those hands on ice.”
The turret returns to a pre-programmed resting position, and the two men walk shoulder to shoulder down the hall.
Owen returns to the boat with the device he and Stephanie were working on in camp. He brings it over to her and drops to her side. “I got it… Stephanie?”
She leans against the wall, her skin is eight shades lighter than normal, and sweat pours down her face. She opens her eyes; they’re sluggish as she finds her assistant. “Owen, hey. You got it. Good...”
“I’ll finish it to your specs, it looks great so far.”
She tries to nod, and she’s barely able to complete the motion. “I’m dying, kid.”
He shakes his head but knows that she speaks the truth. He picks her hand up from her waist and squeezes it.
“This isn’t shock. It’s the virus.”
He sniffs. “Nah, you’ve just lost a lot of blood. You’re all bandaged up now, so all you need to do is rest.”
She tries to shake her head, but her muscles refuse. “I can tell... Burns inside.”
Owen studies her face and holds back his emotions. You believed in me... You can’t leave now!
She swallows and bolsters her remaining strength. “One more order. When I pass out, take my tag and shoot me.”
Tears explode from his eyes, and he nods.
She closes her eyes for the last time. “Then finish this mission.”
Owen holds her hand until he feels it drop—she was holding her hand up, until now. He nudges her shoulder, and her head dips. He stands and stares for a moment, then he wipes his face and tosses a pistol into a dry bag. Speaking to no one in particular, he says over his shoulder, “Help me get her to the water. And grab me a trenching tool. I’ll dig her a grave on shore.” He sniffs and wipes his eyes again. I’ll face her east toward the sunrise.
“I’ll help you.” Charlie stands, looks at Gabriel, and motions to his son. “Stay with him.” Then, he finds
two foldable shovels and helps Owen carry Stephanie to the back of the boat.
Hecate and Ghost are huddled together on the floor of the cockpit, speaking in barely-audible whispers. Ghost is shaking, and Hecate holds her loose enough to allow the emotion out but tight enough to keep Ghost present. Hecate sighs and wonders what she should say. I’m so bad with people... “Melgaard and whoever he’s working with—whoever took Ricochet and Naga—they won’t get away with it. We’ll get them.”
Ghost pauses her shaking. “No, I don’t want to go there yet.” She pulls away from Hecate, and she lets herself settle. Her eyes grow cold, her voice deep. “I’m saving all of that for when I kill them.” She starts the waterworks again and crashes into Hecate’s chest. “I just want to be sad right now.”
Hecate drops a tear too, and she pats her old friend on her back.
Gabriel finishes Eddy’s bandages then checks to see if he needs more blood. Even though they now have many fewer mouths to feed, the ones left are wounded and thirsty—and half their remaining supply was destroyed on shore. Most of us still have a blood-bead, those will help. Gabriel decides Eddy will be alright for the time being.
Nearby, Balena is laid out on her stomach with a blanket covering her legs. “Gabe, would you mind coming over?”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks. Can you cover my ass with a sheet or something? This blanket is making me hot.”
Her pants were trashed with more than a dozen holes ripped in them, and Gabriel didn’t hesitate to tear them apart when treating her many wounds. “If you’re healing, I’ll help you get some pants on.”
“Thanks. I feel pretty dumb and helpless here...”
Gabriel checks her wounds, and most of the ones on her legs are healing well. One pellet tore up the cartilage in her left knee, and even though Gabriel was precise when retrieving the pellet fragments, the damage is severe. The wound on her lower back was deepest of the all; the pellet tore the side of one kidney and just missed her large intestine. “Your legs are looking good, but you’re going to have to stay down. I’ll get you pants. We’re low on blood, you might want to use your bead.”