Orbs II: Stranded

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  A bump in the road jolted Sophie forward, and she grabbed for the handlebar attached to the ceiling. With her head tilted to the side, she could see the blue screen on the dashboard perfectly. The odometer read sixty miles an hour. Even in a Humvee, she knew this speed could send them into a ditch, or worse. The large tires were great for slower speeds, but on gravel they were dangerous.

  She gripped the bar tighter as Overton sped up. “Sergeant . . .” Before she could finish her rebuke, the marine turned his visor and looked at her silently. He was officially losing it. She should have known better than to agree to the mission, let alone join it. But it was too late now. There was no turning back.

  Sophie could see the highway in the distance. They were getting close, and a wave of relief washed over her. She wanted to get to the tunnels as soon as possible. Ever since she caught sight of the Steam Beast through Emanuel’s HUD footage, she’d been on edge. Their small team couldn’t hold up against another one of those creatures, especially not without the RVAMP to help them. Underground, the tunnels would be too small for the new creatures to fit. At least, that’s what Sophie was counting on.

  Overton slammed on the brakes as they came up on the blacktop, jerking Sophie and Bouma to one side. She fumbled for the bar again but missed it and smacked her hand into the window. Something in the back of the truck made a loud thud, masking her cry of pain.

  Overton looked over his shoulder. “What was that?”

  Bouma was already looking into the backseat. “Uh, you’re going to need to see this for yourself.”

  Overton eyed the skyline and then got out of the vehicle. He jogged to the trunk with Sophie right behind him.

  With one swift motion, he yanked the door open to reveal a small body hidden under a pile of blankets and gear. “Shit,” he said, snatching the blanket off to uncover Jeff. The boy looked up at them, holding his hand to his head.

  “You drive like crap,” he moaned.

  “Ugh, goddamned kids,” Overton grumbled. “Get out of there. I should fucking leave you out here for directly disobeying an order.”

  “He’s not a marine, and you aren’t leaving him out here,” Sophie fired back, reaching for Jeff.

  Overton glared at her again, his visor reflecting the bright sun. He shook his head and slammed the door shut once Jeff had jumped onto the dirt.

  “Sit next to Corporal Bouma,” Sophie said, patting the kid on the back a little harder than she meant to. “Corporal, please take a look at his head.”

  Jeff climbed in and sat quietly next to the marine. Bouma said, “It’s okay, kid. Just stay close to me.”

  The boy nodded and fastened his seat belt just as Overton slammed his foot down on the gas, tearing onto the highway. Within seconds they were weaving in and out of the graveyard of empty vehicles.

  Sophie grabbed the handle again. Every time she started to relax, she was slapped in the face with a new problem. Being her team’s leader in the old world had meant facing tough math equations or dealing with the fallout from a controversial paper, but in the new world every decision affected the lives of those she was so desperately trying to protect. That was the reason she had decided to come with Overton. She was responsible for these men, and if she was putting their lives at risk, then she had to be there to support them.

  If Alexia was right and the weapon Emanuel designed could in fact take out fifteen square miles’ worth of aliens, then they had the opportunity to save countless lives—lives that would be invaluable to the resistance. But at what cost? Deep down she still wasn’t convinced the mission was a good idea.

  In the distance, she could see the skyscrapers of Colorado Springs. They appeared to sway in the heat, their shiny metallic sides glistening under the scorching sun.

  “One hundred and two degrees,” she muttered.

  “What’s that?” Overton asked.

  “The temperature. It’s one hundred and two degrees out there.”

  “Shit. Kiel has got to be burning up on the mountain without a suit. I only saw him take two water bottles,” Bouma said.

  “He’s been trained. He knows how to conserve his water,” Overton said. His helmet moved from side to side as he scanned the skyline for drones.

  It was surprisingly quiet, but Sophie knew the silence wouldn’t last. She sat back in her seat, releasing her grip on the handle and watching the dead landscape race by them. There wasn’t a hint of green. What had been deep lakes were now post-apocalyptic craters, reminders of what had once been a leisurely place to have a picnic or take out a boat. And the empty streets and buildings were equally as eerie. It was as if they were entering a ghost town.

  Ten minutes later, Overton eased the truck to a stop in front of a building. A sign dangled above it.

  SUBWAY STATION E1.

  They were at their destination.

  * * *

  Captain Noble stood in the middle of the CIC. His eyes darted from monitor to monitor, studying the data that was slowly trickling in. The GOA had been sitting in silence for over two hours, with nothing but the random beep from a sensor or the sound of footsteps to break the anxiety of waiting. With every passing minute, he knew the chances of the Chinese making the rendezvous were diminishing.

  Noble closed his eyes and sucked in a breath through his nostrils. He had to put the thought out of his head, just like he had done with the thoughts of his family. He was no good to any of his crew if he was distressed. Strength was the only way forward.

  The sound of another chirp pulled his attention to the navigation station. The blue screen was obscured by the head of his first officer, Athena Lewis. He tapped her on the shoulder. “What do you have, Lieutenant?”

  “Sir, we’re picking up some sort of signal in Colorado. Looks like it’s moving, too.”

  Noble checked the monitor displaying the locations of the remaining Biospheres. Eight lights blinked. Another one had gone dark during the night.

  Alaska.

  “Shit,” Noble said, cracking his knuckles.

  “Sir?” Lewis asked.

  “Nothing. Can you narrow the location of the signal?”

  “Working on it, sir.”

  The captain looked back at the screen. Cheyenne Mountain was still online. Could this new signal be connected?

  “Irene, tell Alex to report to the CIC.”

  “Yes, Captain,” the AI replied.

  Within minutes Alex entered the room, wiping sleep from his eyes.

  “Tell me everything you know about the Cheyenne Mountain Biosphere,” Noble ordered, turning back to the monitor.

  “I already have, sir.”

  “Think harder.”

  Alex shook his head. “There’s nothing . . .” He paused. “I told you about their weapon.”

  The blue screen in front of Lewis flared to life, and a graphic of Colorado Springs burst onto the display. “Sir, the signal is coming from within the city. I started picking it up as soon as we deployed the radio mast.”

  “And you didn’t tell me?” Noble asked, his voice agitated.

  “Sir, I didn’t know what it was at first. We pick up strange signals all the time. Most turn out to be dead ends.”

  The captain took a step closer. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to—”

  “Sir,” she interjected. “That signal is definitely moving.”

  Noble hunched over her terminal and watched a red blip inch across the screen. “I’ll bet they’re testing that weapon. Irene, notify the engineers in the vehicle depot. I want a helicopter prepped and ready within the hour. And notify the Special Forces team. They’re going for a ride.”

  The captain looked over at Alex, who stared back at him in disbelief. “Finding you was like hitting the lottery,” Noble said, smiling. He slapped Alex on the back and headed for the doorway. “Richards, you’re in charge now. Prepare the sub to
surface. I’m going with the chopper.”

  Noble didn’t turn to see the shocked looks on his crew’s faces. He disappeared into the hallway and made his way to his quarters. Inside, he grabbed the picture of his family, kissing it lightly.

  “Time to make things right,” he whispered before placing it in his backpack. He glanced one more time at the space he had considered home for so long. With a smile, he shut off the lights and raced down the hallway toward the vehicle station. He was ready—ready to avenge his family.

  * * *

  A few doors down, Alex lay in bed with his hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He tilted his head to look at the blue screen. There were no beautiful jellyfish gliding across the screen, none of the fascinating deep-sea creatures that had mesmerized him before. Just . . .

  Darkness.

  He closed his eyes and imagined the world Noble was heading into. The man had no idea what he was about to face. His prized periscope had shown him images, sure, but he’d never seen any of the aliens up close. Never seen an orb crack open and spill out human remains. Those were the images Alex had to live with—those were the things he couldn’t get out of his mind. He was still alive when everyone he had ever loved was dead.

  The hum of some distant machine sent a chill down Alex’s spine. The noise reminded him of what he’d escaped. Closing his eyes, he pictured the horde of Spiders consuming the human remains in a neighborhood back in California. Squeezing his eyes tightly, the image changed. This time, he saw his friends inside the Biosphere as they were torn to shreds and then spun into orbs.

  His eyelids snapped open when he heard a vibration rumble through the sub’s metal walls. It sounded liked something had smashed into the GOA’s side.

  Alex sat up and listened.

  Another tremor surged through the boat. And then another. Paralyzed with fear, Alex scrambled across his bunk and cowered in the corner of the bed. His hands shook at his sides as the noises grew in intensity.

  Had the sea serpent Organics found them again? Or were these just phantom sounds in his mind?

  He imagined the faceless head of the alien that had hovered in front of the camera. A shockwave of fear tore into Alex as he remembered the creature’s chest cavity cracking open to reveal those jagged teeth.

  Crack!

  Alex let out a small wail as the noise rang out. The metal wall behind him vibrated with the sudden noise. It sounded like it was coming from right behind him.

  Shimmering reds swam before his eyes as he began to drift from reality. He could see the snakes ramming the side of the boat, their teeth glistening in the water, ready to devour him.

  “No!” Alex yelled. “I won’t let you take me.”

  Jumping off the top bunk, he grabbed the rope he’d swiped off a cart on his way back from the CIC. He tied the noose with careful precision, trying not to think about what he was about to do.

  Behind him the banging continued. There were more of them now. Alex tied the rope faster. Then he pulled the chair out from under the small desk and stood on it to tie the rope around a metal pipe on the ceiling. He tugged it twice to make sure it was tight. There wasn’t going to be much room, with the ceiling only eight feet high.

  He thought of his sister as he held the rope in his hands. Alex wasn’t going to let those things get him like they had her.

  Before he stood on the chair and slipped the noose around his neck, he considered what he was about to do one more time. He had worked so hard to survive out there. Tried so desperately to find safety. And he thought he had.

  NTC had taken him in, fed him, and promised him the human race wasn’t going to just lie down and die. But he didn’t believe any of it. He had seen the monstrosities outside, the Spiders and the orbs, and now the sea serpents. They were just as vulnerable in this submarine as they were outside. Noble thought he could fight back. The Biosphere at Colorado Springs thought they could create a weapon. But what was the point? The Organics were in control of everything. They owned the planet now. Whatever humanity did, however they tried to fight or hide or survive, the Organics would find them. The Organics would kill them.

  He didn’t want any of it.

  With the noose in position, he tightened it and closed his eyes. His sister’s freckled face slipped into his mind. It was a memory from long ago, on a sunny day at the beach. He could see her laughing at some joke he didn’t remember making. Then she was gone. He saw instead the image of one of the snakelike aliens. The creature’s chest opened and flapped its fins as it lurched toward him. There was only one way to finally escape them. And he was doing it on his own terms.

  He kicked the chair out from under him and felt the noose tighten around his neck. His legs kicked uncontrollably, but he didn’t fight it like he thought he would. He didn’t claw at the rope around his neck. He simply closed his eyes and slipped away into the black.

  * * *

  In the CIC, Captain Noble let out a sigh as the GOA continued its ascent. The hull creaked as the pressure decreased on their way up to the surface and the ballast tanks filled with air. Even after so many years at sea, the sound still startled him.

  He watched the blue screen in front of him read off their depth.

  Eight hundred feet.

  Seven hundred forty-five feet.

  Five hundred ten feet . . .

  CHAPTER 27

  SOPHIE led Jeff through the darkness. The sunlight had disappeared about a mile back when they had followed the tracks deep underground. Her infrared allowed her to see into the darkest places, but Jeff was completely blind. He held on to her left hand tightly as they made their way deeper into the entrails of the facility.

  The outline of one of the idle trains came into view as they rounded the next corner. Overton held up his hand and then jerked his chin at Bouma. “Check it out.”

  Sophie watched Bouma’s armored body move cautiously forward, his pulse rifle leveled at the train. “Any intel from the bot?” she whispered into her helmet’s microphone.

  “I’ve been watching the video on my HUD. So far the tunnels appear clear,” Overton replied.

  Glancing at her own HUD for the mission time, she saw a tiny red flash.

  Contact.

  Bouma must have seen it too. He dropped to one knee and jammed his rifle tighter against his shoulder.

  Sophie quickly pulled Jeff to the side of the tracks where they rested their backs against the concrete wall.

  “What is it?” Jeff whispered. Pulling his 10mm handgun from his backpack, he tried to look around her.

  “Shhh,” Sophie said, pushing him back toward the wall. She peered around the corner and saw the red blip dance across her display and disappear into the train.

  Have they found us already?

  Her breathing became more labored, hot puffs of breath fogging up her visor. She swiped at the glass in vain and waited for the view to clear.

  A short burst of white noise sounded in her ear.

  “Contact,” Bouma said.

  “Roger. Check it out,” Overton replied.

  Sophie saw Bouma’s helmet move, although she wasn’t sure if he was acknowledging Overton or if he was just surveying the area. In seconds, he was on the move, his rifle aimed at the train’s windows, then the ground, then the windows again, and finally the open door.

  Sophie blinked, and Bouma was gone. She tightened her grip on Jeff’s hand, ready to lead him away from the train. The time on her mission clock ticked away across her display.

  Fifteen seconds passed. Then another fifteen. Each moment felt like an eternity. Like one of her bad dreams.

  The growing sensation of helplessness began to take control of her—her heart thumped faster in her chest and her breathing became shallower.

  She looked back at Jeff. He was staring into the darkness, his lips quivering. His face drenched with
sweat and dirt.

  How terrified must he feel? Waiting in the darkness, completely vulnerable to his surroundings. Sophie licked her dry lips and narrowed her eyes with a new resolve. She knew she had to be strong for him.

  Sophie flinched as another burst of static played over her helmet’s headset. She waited for Overton to relay another order, but instead her earpiece was filled with a chilling scream. The noise was stifled at once by the com’s static, making it impossible to know where the sound was coming from.

  Another voice erupted over the net. “Back, get back!”

  The screaming was deafening, and she cupped her hands over her helmet in a futile attempt to stop the noise.

  Movement flashed across her display and she focused on Overton, who was waving his hands in her direction.

  “Get back!”

  The words were his. It finally made sense. She retreated a few steps until she felt her back hit the wall. More movement flashed across her display. Overton was sprinting toward the train. He skidded to a stop just as Bouma jumped out of the open door and crashed onto the train tracks.

  Sophie reached back and grabbed Jeff with her right hand to keep him still while she peeked around the corner.

  Bouma clawed at his head. It was then she saw there was something attached to his helmet. He rolled on the tracks, pawing at his visor, while Overton rushed over to help him.

  “What the hell is it?” Sophie finally said, her voice now hysterical.

  Jeff pulled on Sophie’s hand. “What’s going on?”

  Sophie didn’t reply. Overton was standing over Bouma, who was now sitting up and holding something in his hands.

  What she heard next shocked her.

  Laughter.

  “It’s a freaking cat,” Overton said. “A cat!”

  Bouma held the emaciated creature in his hands.

  When her breathing and heart rate returned to normal levels, Sophie took Jeff’s hand and led him to the two marines. “Come on. It’s okay,” she reassured him.