by Mark Lingane
Will swept the beam over the area again. He looked up. There were other exits and a metal stairway leading down. “What makes them go green?” he said.
“I was told that the skin of the infected people doesn’t get enough nutrients because the muscles and digestion use up everything, so the skin basically starts to rot and decay.”
“That sounds disgusting.”
“Trust me,” Sebastian said, “it’s not the most disgusting thing about them.”
“It looked pretty dead to me.” Will glanced back at the spot he had found the creature.
“Unless you sever the head, it’s impossible to kill them. Even then, I wouldn’t trust it. Maybe if you minced it up and set it on fire. Then buried it. At the bottom of the ocean.”
“You have to be kidding me.”
“Maybe a little.” Sebastian gave him a quick smile.
“This isn’t a time to be messing around.”
“Sorry. I’ve been fighting these things for a while. You kill enough of them, you get desensitized eventually.”
“How many, roughly, have you killed?”
He shrugged. “A couple of thousand, I guess.”
“Thousand! You, on your own?” Will was shocked.
“No, that’d be ridiculous. My friend Melanie did most of it. I was just support.”
Several other soldiers appeared along the corridor.
“The other corridors went nowhere,” Edward said.
“That makes this the only way down,” Will said, indicating the stairway.
Tyler appeared with Memphis.
“We’re going to have to go down, aren’t we?” she said.
Tyler glanced down the stairwell. He nodded. “Nothing else up here. All the electrical points must be down below.”
“You can go,” Memphis said. “I’m going back out. I haven’t got any decent firepower.”
Tyler nodded. “Probably for the best. How many techs do we have?”
Jameson and Trigger raised their hands.
“Okay, Will, you take Edward and Hashtax and scout to the right. I’ll take Jameson and Trigger and head to the left. We’ll meet up on the far side.”
“What are we looking for?” Will asked.
“A relay that’s been tripped or broken. Severed cabling. Something stopping the power getting from the turbines. There’ll be a relay room somewhere. That’ll be the likely place.”
“I’ll tag along with you,” Sebastian said to Will.
“Whatever,” Will said, “the more the merrier.”
“Before you go,” Sebastian said, “you all need to know a couple of things. One, if you shoot one of them, you can’t just assume it’s dead. Aim for the head. Try to blow its brains out completely. Two, if it breathes a green gas at you, hold your breath. The gas will knock you out. Three, don’t ever let one of them cut you, ever. And if you see another soldier cut by one, shoot him in the head.”
“Aren’t you a little ray of sunshine,” Tyler said. “Anything else? No? Then let’s move out.”
They all made their way, single file, down the steps with their boots clanking on the metal. When they reached the bottom, the open space stretched away in all directions. The teams separated. Within moments, Will and his group had vanished in the gloom.
Tyler led the small group into the darkness. Water flushed down over the floor, the noise masking their movements. The dim light of the flashlights bounced off the water, scattering the beams. The light cut through the spray, giving the light shape. There was a sudden movement to the right, the sound of splashing. Trigger wheeled around and squeezed off several rounds, which sparked as they ricocheted off the walls.
“I guess they’ll know we’re down here now,” Tyler said.
“Sorry, sir, I caught movement.”
“Are you certain you saw something? Your nerves playing up? We’ve got all sorts of strange shadows and noises down here.”
Tyler could make out a dark opening directly ahead and led the two men to it. The opening revealed a long corridor. The beam of light illuminated little more than the rippling water on the floor, and the dark closed in around them. The metallic walls echoed back the splashing of their feet as they moved forward.
Tyler reached the end and kicked a step, almost tripping over. “Step up, men,” he whispered over his shoulder. He climbed out of the water onto a wooden platform, and shone his flashlight around the room. “It’s the relay room. Search it for damage.”
Several large switches were on the far wall. A series of wires ran along the top of each one, hooking into a thick, glistening black core that flowed down onto the floor. Jameson tracked the wiring, examining each connection, as the other two stood watch. A distant burst of gunfire echoed down the corridor.
“Hopefully they’ve only seen shadows as well,” Tyler said.
He gave Trigger a sideways glance. The young soldier still looked skittish, flinching at every unexpected noise. Tyler passed over the flashlight and Trigger clutched at it eagerly. He calmed as he flicked the dim beam around the room.
Tyler turned on his laser sight. The status display instantly sank into the red, indicating that the rifle wouldn’t last long. A dead battery in the near dark, with dead weaponry, was a situation he could see no way out of alive.
“I’ve found the problem,” Jameson said, standing just inside the door. “The wires have been cut. Badly. Almost like they’ve been gnawed through.” He held up the two ends of the severed core. “And they’re sticky.” He swept his flashlight beam over the floor. There was a trail of red. He wiped his finger over it and smelled the residue. “Blood,” he confirmed. “But whose?”
Jameson followed the trail with the light, across the floor and up the wall. Hanging from the ceiling was a body. The light flickered over the insignia on the jacket. “Outlaw,” he muttered. “Who would attack an outlaw?”
“What I want to know,” Tyler said, “is who has the strength to stake a person to a ceiling? I doubt they brought a ladder.” He turned to Trigger. “See if you can get the man down.”
Trigger put down the flashlight and strapped a knife to the barrel of his rifle. Jameson tucked the flashlight into his uniform and gave him a leg up. Trigger hacked at the rope tied to the outlaw until it fell free, then jumped down onto the floor and put the knife back in his belt. He searched through the outlaw’s pockets and came up with a small medipack. Green with a white cross.
“Why has an outlaw got a medipack from the Peacemaker?” Tyler said. “The Peacemaker’s specifically and loudly shown himself as an enemy of the outlaws.”
“Yes, we get the same message in the Forty-ninth,” Trigger said. “No one deals with outlaws.”
“Get to work, Jameson,” Tyler said, indicating the wire core. “Be quick and there could be a promotion in it for you.”
Jameson wedged the flashlight under his arm and set to work splicing the cabling back together. The flashlight slipped and fell to the floor. The light went out as the bulb shattered.
Suddenly, there was a rattling sound, like a chain being dragged, and the pounding of feet that echoed down the corridor and around the small relay room.
Tyler and Trigger raised their weapons and sighted down the narrow hallway.
“How many rounds you got?” Tyler said.
Trigger checked his indicator. “Five.”
“You’re going to be a lot of help.” Tyler slipped a clip off his belt and threw it over to the young soldier.
Trigger snapped it into place and the indicator flashed to one hundred. He felt his neck muscles relax slightly, then immediately tense at the sound of a low scrape down the corridor. He swept his light down the corridor, from one side to the other.
“Steady, Trigger. We’re in a confined space.”
They took a step forward. There was a scuttling sound followed by a heavy sigh.
“What was that?” Trigger said.
“Calm. It could’ve been a rat.”
“Sounds like a heavy r
at. The smell in here’s getting worse.”
“Jameson, how are you going with the cables?” Tyler said.
“Nearly done, Tackle.”
“What was that? I felt a breeze,” Trigger said. He twitched nervously.
“Calm down,” Tyler said, watching Jameson. “Keep focused.”
“Tackle, I’m finding it hard to breathe.” Trigger blinked, and steadied the flashlight beam down the corridor. The light was fading. “This light’s playing tricks with my eyes. Looks like it’s gone green.”
“What!” Tyler swung around. “Men, cover your mouths now. Jameson, how long?”
“I can’t work one handed,” Jameson shouted.
Tyler grabbed a cloth that was hanging out of the outlaw’s tunic and threw it to Jameson. “Tie this around your mouth and nose. Top priority.”
“Tackle, I’m feeling …” Trigger mumbled, and slumped to the floor.
“Jameson, we need you to finish now.”
Jameson worked furiously. His fingers burned and became numb as they fought for purchase on the blood-soaked coating of the core. He sliced into the wires and into his own fingers as he quickly twisted the bare metal wiring together.
There was a thud in front of him. His flashlight fell to the floor and shone against the wall. “Done!” he shouted. He jumped up and reached around for his rifle.
The infected attacked. Tyler fired down the corridor. He looked at his indicator: 80.
Jameson grabbed his rifle and took up position behind Tyler.
“You guard the rear and fire at anything that moves behind us,” Tyler said. There was a scrape from in front, and he whirled around and fired again. He checked his indicator: 72.
He picked up the unconscious Trigger and heaved him onto his shoulder. He heard running footsteps coming toward them, and his laser beam flicked across a deformed green face that was all teeth and ripped-open mouth. Tyler fired. The infected fell to the ground into a puddle of its own stinking blood.
“That didn’t seem too hard,” Tyler said, just as a claw reached out and gripped him around the ankle. He fired another round into the creature. He crashed into the wall under Trigger’s weight, and struggled to get him back over his shoulder.
66.
Behind him, Jameson fired off a long round. His weapon jammed. He pulled frantically at the release mechanism; something rose in front him in the darkness. “Help!” he cried.
Tyler swung around, targeting the infected with the narrow laser beam, and fired. There was a thud as the creature fell heavily to the ground.
49.
Tyler swung back and fired back down the corridor as another infected leaped at him. He pinned it against the wall and squeezed the trigger. The figure danced at the end of the barrel as the bullets tore through it. The creature slumped down into the water.
22.
Both soldiers ran a couple of steps down the corridor, Tyler struggling with Trigger’s weight. A dim glow illuminated the end of the passage. Something was crawling toward them, silently. Water erupted beside them.
Tyler swung his rifle around, but it just bounced off the creature. Bony arms grabbed for the weapon.
Jameson stabbed its hand with a screwdriver. It shrieked and pulled away. He followed up with a heavy kick between its legs, which seemed to have no effect. Its eyes glowed red. Another burst of bullets from the tackle knocked it back down. He tried to unjam the rifle, but whatever was blocking it refused to budge.
11.
Another infected appeared at the corridor opening. Tyler roared and charged forward, firing. His rifle barrel poked into the infected. The chamber was empty.
The infected grabbed the barrel and smiled. Terror filled Tyler’s eyes. There was a hissing sound and green mist floated toward him. Tyler held his breath and charged forward. Jameson was close behind him. The infected stumbled backward then planted its feet, blocking the men’s escape through the door.
The infected leaped at Tyler, snarling, and baring fangs and claws.
Sebastian hacked into the flying body and it crashed to the floor. His sword drove in and cut deeply into the creature. He put his foot on the quivering body, and then drove the sword into its neck, severing the head from the body.
“Have to make sure,” he said.
Lightning fast, Sebastian speared his sword past Tyler’s head. The tackle went weak as it narrowly missed his ear.
Sebastian spiked into the head of another infected that was riddled with bullet holes. He ripped out the sword and brought it around in a wide sweep that cut deeply into the body. He placed his foot against the infected to pull the sword free.
A third infected leaped from the dark corridor, exhaling a green mist. Sebastian quickly wrapped his cape around his face and held his breath. He kicked out at the infected, knocking it against the wall, then sliced through its head.
“You didn’t know they were behind you?” he said to Tyler and Jameson.
“We expected them to stay dead,” Tyler panted. He looked around at the carnage on the floor. “How do we defeat them if bullets don’t do it?”
Sebastian shook his head. “I told you before, the only way to kill them is to sever the head or blast it off.” He twirled his sword and held it up in front of him. “Steel,” he replied. “Or tons of firepower.”
Tyler sighed. “We have plenty of that.” He noticed the clothing on the infected. “They were Chargers.”
“No one’s immune,” Sebastian said solemnly. “Family, friends, they all need to be killed unless you have the antidote.”
“We need to get the antidote.”
“We need to get the antidote,” Sebastian echoed.
“How many are down here?” Jameson asked Sebastian.
“We won’t know until we get the lights on. Then we can hunt them down.”
“What if they band together?” Tyler said.
“They can’t band together. They can’t think. They’re completely consumed by their desires,” Sebastian explained. “It’s a strength and a weakness. They can only think about themselves.”
“Are you sure?” Jameson kicked the decapitated body.
“I was told this by an expert. Is he all right?” He indicated the unconscious Trigger.
“He caught a lungful of that gas,” Jameson said. “How long will he be out?”
“Ten or fifteen minutes maybe. Depends how clean the air is.”
There was a splash behind Sebastian. He spun around. Kneeling in the water was Hashtax. Sebastian raised his lantern.
The soldier had a deep wound across his chest, and the edges of the cut were already turning a vivid green. He held up his gun. The ammunition readout said zero. Hashtax’s face contorted with pain and he vomited up a mixture of green and red bile. He clasped his hands together and lifted them as his body twisted to one side.
Sebastian looked into the eyes of the pleading man. He brought around his sword drove it through the man’s head.
“What the hell?” Jameson shouted.
“He was dead already,” Sebastian replied. “And no longer human. I’ve seen what it does to people. This was better.” He stared at the fallen body.
“You look worried,” Tyler said.
Sebastian nodded. “Usually the transformation takes days. This happened today, since we’ve been here. It might’ve been because Hashtax’s wound was so bad. It’s doubly important now for us to kill any infected on sight. And preferably at a distance.”
“Trigger here took a mouthful of that gas. Do we have to kill him?”
“I don’t think so. But we’d better keep an eye on him.”
Will appeared with Edward. “What’s happening?” he said, spotting the bodies. “We heard gunshots and shouting, and then Hashtax disappeared.” He caught sight of the Charger’s body and went silent.
“We need to look after each other a bit better,” Tyler said. “We found the problem, and we’ve fixed it. Come on, let’s get the power on.”
30
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nbsp; THEY CLIMBED UP the stairway back to the landing and wrenched the ancient switch into the on position. The relay station fired into life. Ceiling lights hanging on long chains lit up the cavernous chamber below. The lights flickered before stabilizing and glowing strongly. Dials and indicators lit up across the metal sheet. Needles began to move as hydropower spilled into the storage batteries. A low hum traveled through the metal flooring.
Sebastian closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he felt the power rise. His senses tingled as the electromagnetic forces generated from clean energy swirled around him.
The men let out a small cheer. In the light, they felt braver. They gathered together, relaxed and chatting.
Brad and Thomas came in with the rest of the men. A small team was organized to go back down to the lower level and look for any remaining infected.
Sebastian explored the control landing and followed a narrow passageway leading to a metal stairway and a small, heavily locked door. He climbed up the steps, and with all the power flowing around him, he had no trouble focusing his mind on the locks and clicking the parts into place, and the door sprang open.
He stepped out onto another landing, barely large enough for two people, overlooking the dam. In the distance, he could see the shimmering lights of the city. The mist had dissipated, and the air was fresh and clean. He filled his lungs with air, feeling the dankness and disease of the infected executions wash away. He stood in reflective silence, embracing the solitude of the moment on the small deck, watching the water cascade below. The raw power was invigorating. He felt like he could fly.
War had made him a killer. He could only rationalize it by reminding himself that the infected weren’t people anymore. He had never killed a normal person, just cyborgs and infected. But he knew in his heart that the infected had once been completely human, and every time he sank a sword into the body of one of them, he’d felt a part of him scream out. Melanie had never seemed to have that trouble. For her, everyone had been the enemy and she had no hesitation or guilt in dispensing retribution even before she was attacked.
The guilt stabbed into him. He sighed. If he was going to survive in North America and achieve his goal, he was going to have to be more like her. Maybe that was a good thing. It was also another way of remembering his friend.