by Mark Lingane
“Go back,” one of them ordered.
“No,” Nikola said, “you go back.”
“You’re in no position to be flippant with us. For a start, we outnumber you.”
Nikola narrowed his eyes at the soldiers.
Brad and Sebastian heard the scream of the steam engine moments before Nikola burst out of the tunnel into the gray light, both wheels leaving the ground and leaving a trail of mist in the air.
“Success?” Brad shouted as Nikola shot by.
Nikola brought the bike around and parked it next to them. “Yes and no. They’ve set up detonators all around the center of the tunnel. They say if we try to cross they’ll blow up the tunnel with as many people in it as possible.”
“Welcome to New York. And you have a bullet hole in your bike.”
“Detonators shouldn’t be too hard to sort out,” Sebastian said. “They have wires made of metal.”
“Are you sure?” Nikola said. “There were unpleasant words spoken. If they see you, they’ll kill you.”
“Can @summer come with me?”
“Can you focus with her there?”
“Sure.”
Nikola narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
The bike rumbled down into the dark. The whine of the twin steam jets echoed around the walls of the long tunnel.
“Do you have stealth mode?” @summer said.
“It’s a steambike. I don’t think it’s possible.”
They slowly made their way downward, bumping over chunks of fallen concrete and the occasional plant. In the beam of the headlight, they could see the tunnel leveling out ahead.
“Stop the bike,” @summer said.
He pulled over and @summer dismounted. She stood at the back of the bike and leaned against Sebastian. He wrapped his arms around her as she looked back toward the entrance.
“The days ahead are uncertain,” she said. “Maybe the future of today is uncertain. Probability about today is hard to calculate. But I do know my levels are low. I can’t maintain usefulness and my primary directive for long.”
“It’s all about belief,” Sebastian said. “You never know until you get there. Niels designed Christopher, who designed Iris. Niels is a very smart guy. He might know how to sort out the chemicals for you.”
“The probability of Niels’ survival is as low as ours, which is low.low. But if this is it, if this is our last day, our last quiet moment together before war, then I want to tell you …” Her voice trailed off. “We’ve survived a lot together. Much of it has been painful. We’ve fought to save things where there’s been little worth saving. I can’t understand how our paths have crossed and crossed again, but it’s brought us both here to a place where there is a low.low probability of us surviving. Through it all, I wouldn’t change a moment. I endured every pain because you’re worth it. I’ve treasured every good moment we’ve had.”
Sebastian was confused. “But we’re not saying goodbye, @summer.”
“But you’re dying, I’m dying. Your body’s metabolizing at a rate that’ll rip you apart in days. I’ve reached critical level with the chemicals. There is no future.”
“If you don’t make it through with me, then none of this is worth it. You’re my tomorrow. You’re my every future good moment, and we will survive.”
They embraced each other.
“A last good moment,” she said.
“But not a last goodbye.”
“I won’t fail you,” she whispered.
The breaking moments ticked by. Part of what she said was the truth. He knew something was wrong, had been wrong, with him. And no matter what they all said, the future had not been set. There would be a way, and he would fight for every inch of it.
“There’s something staring at us,” he said.
@summer swiveled and caught the slow blinking of the huge red eyes.
“Dragon!” Brad shouted.
The bike screamed past, wrapped inside a great ball of fire. A great beast came lumbering out of the tunnel behind the bike. It beat its wings, smashing them into the ground.
“What in God’s name is that?” cried Brad. “Dragons are mythical beasts.”
The creature arced fire across the sky.
“It’s a cyborg dragon. They were sort of made in our country,” Nikola shouted.
They all ran for cover, and Sebastian pulled up beside them on the bike.
“Sebastian, can’t you do something?” Nikola said.
“It isn’t controlled by Iris, and it’s a lot bigger than the ones back home. There’s not much I can do.”
The great beast rose up on its hind legs. At that moment a brilliant blue beam seared across the sky, slamming into the dragon, forcing it backward and sending it crashing to the ground. It thrashed violently as it tried to right itself.
“My God,” Nikola said as Niels lowered the EM gun. “That’s impressive. To the front with it.”
“It takes time to recharge,” Niels said. “Ten minutes.”
“Okay, to the middle with it. Everyone into the tunnel, now.”
“But Nikola,” @summer said, “I’ve haven’t disabled the detonators.”
“What were you doing in there? Don’t tell me. I don’t need the details. Is there something else you can do?”
“I can go first.”
Dust and rubble exploded out of the tunnel and spread across the Manhattan shoreline in a fountain of destruction. It rained down on the men as they burst out of the rapidly collapsing tunnel. Nikola pulled aside and waved the men through in formation. Truck after truck barreled out, and lined up side by side across the expanse of shaking earth.
Nikola was relieved when @summer and Sebastian appeared on the bike. A roar of water followed them, surging up into a huge geyser that sprayed over them.
“There’s no going back now,” Nikola said.
“Sorry,” Sebastian said. “I held the explosives back as long as I could.”
“At least we got through.” Nikola rode to the front of the army and dismounted.
The Master’s troops were assembled in front of them. A figure detached itself and marched toward him. Nikola started walking and they met in the middle of the open space.
A diminutive man in a blue-and-white uniform introduced himself as a spokesman for the Master. “This is your chance to surrender,” he said. “If you hand over the tesla, the Master will spare the rest of you.”
“Not going to happen,” Nikola replied.
The man looked behind Nikola at the battle-weary but battle-ready soldiers. He looked unconcerned.
Nikola looked at the enemy lines. “Why do you all wear white?”
“We represent the truth, and we will prevail. Will you surrender to the Giants?”
Nikola looked down at the diminutive man and raised an eyebrow. “There are two reasons we’re here. One, we’re going to fix that great twisting monstrosity behind you”—he indicated the Time Flare—“and two, these people behind me are tired of you attacking them. They want peace. Do you even know why you’re fighting?”
The man shrugged. “Invaders will tell themselves anything to justify and excuse their aggression.”
“You do know that this is basically a war between two brothers over a woman—a war over a broken heart. That is the excuse here.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. You have no clue about the history of this land.”
“And you have no clue about the Time Flare and the damage it’s doing. Step back and allow us to do our task.”
“Never.”
“There can be peace in America. It can happen right now. For the second time, will you allow us through?”
“No, you’re hostile invaders.”
“You have a land shaking itself to pieces, run by a madman,” Nikola said. “We don’t want to be hostile. Allow us through to the Time Flare and there’ll be no trouble.”
“We have weapons.” He looked over Nikola’s shoulder. “From what I can see, you bare
ly have any weapons. We have thousands of soldiers, and there are not thousands of you.”
“Is that your final word?”
“It wasn’t even my first word. Prepare to be annihilated.” He turned and fired a flare into the sky.
Nikola ran back to the lines. “This is it,” he said to Brad. “We fight.”
“Nikola, you were trying to tell me something about my father before. What was it?” Sebastian said.
“I’ll tell you once we’ve won. We need to focus right now.” Nikola withdrew his sword and held it aloft. The sun reflected off the sharpened blade. A whistling came from the far ranks.
“Charge!”
Mortars exploded around them, blasting soil and metal skywards. The enemy came running at them.
Nikola roared, and singled out the central leader, now standing next to the spokesman. The front line dropped and aimed their rifles. He brought his sword around and pointed it at the opposing army, directly at their q-backer. He charged into the battalions’ ranks.
The 49th flowed to the north and split into two groups, together with Seahawks, who provided cover from a defensive shield made from the trucks. Charlie led the Chargers into a southern sweep, firing and defending as they moved into position.
The lieutenant turned and commanded his men to fire at will. With well-trained precision they aimed and pulled the trigger. And nothing happened. The gun barrels melted, and the bullets turned to rust. Sebastian came soaring from behind and up and over Nikola. He landed heavily, leaving a dent in the ground, and charged forward. He brought his sword around, cutting aside several in front of him. They crumbled under his force. He paused and focused, and a beam of light leaped from his hand, knocking down several men charging in from the left.
@summer fired several rounds into the oncoming flank sweeping in from the right, pinning them back, then charged forward.
Sebastian swung up and through several men brandishing whatever working weaponry they could find, knocking them aside, and kicking an approaching soldier so hard he flew into a small pack of men, knocking them over. @summer spun around behind him with her Gatling guns screaming, taking out another flank charging in from behind. Nikola charged forward as a breakaway infantry team swarmed. He met them head on, spearing the leader then pushing through the rest. They tumbled back under his force. He emerged into the small opening Sebastian had cleared as he hacked his way through the masses as they had fumbled with their defective weapons.
Nikola turned to look at him. “Nice moves.”
“I had a good teacher.”
Nikola beamed with pride. “Maybe he had a good student.”
“I didn’t say it was a ‘he.’”
Nikola pressed the comms button on his chest. “Brad, Charlie, are you in position?”
His earpiece buzzed. “Confirmed,” they both responded. “Let’s go. And may the gods shine on us today.”
Brad signaled his men to push north.
And so it began …
81
BLACK QUEEN’S ROOK to queen’s bishop. Rook takes bishop.
The 49th Division carved through the defenses. A bolt of blue light from Niels scythed through the enemy, taking out a mounted machine gun. The 49th pushed on and the enemy fell back to regroup. A strike from the north formed a pincer movement, catching the Giants off guard and pushing them further into their central ranks. The 49th laid down a barrage of heavy fire that severed the enemy’s ammunition supply lines and surrounded the Giants’ northern ranks.
Nikola stepped up to the Giants’ leader, who tried to empty his pistol into him. The gun failed to fire, clicking harmlessly. Nikola drove his sword through the man, who collapsed, revealing the spokesman cowering behind its fallen leader. Nikola raised his sword and the man turned and fled. The Giants around him scattered.
“Central force destabilized,” he said into his comms unit.
White knight to king’s pawn.
The Church of Truth temple, built out of the reconstructed multistory ironworks, echoed as the Master’s footsteps pounded on the metal flooring. The glow of the molten steel bathed the inhabitants with orange light. The enormous cannon gleamed as the weapons technician finished the checks. A woman stood behind him. She turned to face the dark shadow approaching.
“Are you sure they’ll do this?” the Master said.
Memphis nodded. She looked up, but could only see the mask. It was all she’d ever seen. Now she wondered if she had only ever seen herself in it. “That’s what they said.”
“You’ve been very useful. I couldn’t have arranged it any better if I’d done it myself.”
“Remember your promise.”
“Don’t I always keep my word?” He turned to his weapons commander. “Push it out. Let them see the spectacle of the EM cannon … let them fear it.”
Black king’s rook to king’s pawn. Takes pawn.
“Charlie, push in and detonate,” Nikola said through the comms.
Charlie commanded the Chargers into a buck sweep, curling around the enemy and pushing in from the south. There were several loud explosions and the enemy fell back. Charlie signaled to the Hail Mary team and they crept away.
White queen takes king’s rook.
The three Chargers made their way through the enemy lines. The uniforms didn’t fit, and made it difficult to move normally. The ground shook constantly, and they crept forward with their heads bowed. The enemy ammunition lines were in disarray after the successful 49th pincer attack, and they quickly made it through to the base of the Church of Truth temple.
They could hear the bellowing of the Master over the clanking and grinding of the smelting machinery. A staircase at the rear of the complex led up to the second floor. They kept close to the wall in single file and made their way up.
They reached the landing and got their first sight of the cannon. The small team of technicians moved in to set up the explosives.
Gunfire erupted behind the Chargers, killing them all. The enemy soldiers gave each other high-fives.
A second team of Chargers appeared and opened fire, killing the enemy soldiers. The Chargers team quickly moved to the cannon and commenced the explosive configuration.
“Quick, men, take it down,” the Charger covert leader said. “Didn’t expect that, did you?” he said to the dead Giants.
“Yes, we did.” Memphis stepped out of hiding and opened fire on the Chargers, killing them all.
Black king’s pawn takes bishop.
The Master strode out onto the balcony of the Church of Truth temple, taking in the battle scene before him. Memphis stood at his side. The war was going according to plan. He wished he could have watched his enemy’s face when it became apparent how deeply the Peacemaker had fallen into his trap. He looked forward to when it was all over, and he could finally free Acacia from her health prison.
He frowned. The 49th appeared to be succeeding in their charge. Fury gripped him and he reached for the black blade by his side.
Reeves came up behind him. “News, Master.” The Master wheeled around. “The Peacemaker is dead.”
The Master released the sword, his body relaxing. He turned back to the battle and scanned the skies. “Finally. The beasts succeeded?”
“Yes, Master, they have prevailed. Possibly a little too successfully.”
“What do you mean?”
“The collateral damage took out the entire building. There were no survivors.”
“Acacia,” he whispered. “No!” He slammed his fist on the balustrade, then crushed the metal with his iron gloves.
Memphis grabbed at him. “Forget her, you have me now.”
He pushed her away. “Prepare the cannon and kill them all!” he roared. “I will have my revenge.”
White king takes king’s rook.
The Master strode toward the 49th Division. Soldiers dropped into formation and fired endless bullets at him. They all bounced off, leaving him unharmed. He swung the black sword, hacking through the men with
out effort.
Brad commanded his men to hold. He fired a machine gun at the Master. The Master held up his hand against the ineffective barrage. As the Master closed in on him, Brad brought the butt of the machine gun around and smacked the black sword aside, catching the strap on the blade. He twisted the gun and ripped the sword out of the Master’s hand. He swung the machine gun again, pounding it against the Master’s helmet.
The Master grabbed the machine gun by the barrel. Brad fired until the clip was empty. He smashed it against the Master, who dropped to his knees. Brad kicked into the Master’s stomach and lifted him, launching him in the air. He grabbed a grenade launcher and fired. The grenade exploded under the Master, who crashed to the ground. Brad picked up a rifle and walked over. There was a crack in the Master’s helmet. He aimed the weapon.
The Master managed a wild sweep with his legs and knocked Brad over. He rolled over and pounded his fist against Brad’s head. He staggered to his feet and drew a short sword from the back of his armor. He picked Brad up, holding him in the clutches of one hand, and looked into his face. Several soldiers came running to help, but a small team of Giants opened fire and kept them back.
“I remember your brother. He was ruthless. He was going to join me.” He drove the short blade through Brad’s stomach and tossed him on the ground. As he watched Brad die, he said, “He was better.”
The Giants regrouped and pushed back the flailing 49th.
Reeves appeared, keeping his head down. “Look, sir.” He pointed to the northern tunnel.
A stream of infected was pouring out of the tunnel. Across the other side of the Hudson River, dragons were herding hordes of the demented creatures into the far northern tunnel.
“We should find an elevated point to witness your victory,” Reeves said.
“I will fire the weapon myself.” The Master retrieved his sword and slipped it into the scabbard on his back.
82