by P. T. Hylton
As she finished speaking, they heard the whine of bending metal, and then Ed came running through the doorway. Jaden followed close behind, holding a cone-shaped object the size of his torso.
“Is that it?” Alex asked as he reached the transport.
“Yes. This is a nuclear warhead.” He climbed into the passenger seat and grabbed the radio. “We’ve got it. Time to rendezvous.”
“Sounds good, Jaden,” George answered through the radio. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Jaden…” Owl said.
“I feel them, too,” he answered. “Lots of them. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
11
Brian slowly opened his eyes. His mind tried to snap back to reality but a dream was still holding on. He had been walking the streets of New Haven with Alex and Fleming. The three of them joked about losing the city to vampires. He woke to a hand on his back, shaking him, and the dream faded quickly. He blinked hard and realized where he was. This was Agartha, not New Haven, and he had fallen asleep at his desk in the lab.
He wiped the drool off his face and looked up, seeing Stephanie, a cup of coffee in her hand. He glanced back at the desk and saw a small puddle of drool. He quickly put an arm over it to try and hide the mess.
“When you can’t stay awake long enough for me to grab you a cup of coffee, I think that’s a good sign you need some sleep,” she said, with a soft smile.
“Oh, I’m OK, I just rested my head for a second.” He wiped the corner of his mouth again to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
“The bags under your eyes are telling me a different story. I need a little break too. Come with me.” She reached down and grabbed his hand, giving him a gentle pull.
“Wait. I need to save my work and I want to finish the equation.” He let go of her hand and turned back to the screens at his desk.
“Save the work, but there is no such thing as finishing an equation. Each one leads to another.”
“But I think this one really is important. It is the beginning of a new line of experiments that could lead to—”
“That’s my point. They all lead to something else. Take some time to rest and we can come back fresh.” The look on Brian's face said that he still wasn’t convinced. “I’m not taking no for an answer. I promised an elite killer that I would look after you. Do you want to see Alex snap my neck, or something?”
That made Brian smile. “All right.”
“I’ll walk you to your room. What part of the city are you in?”
Brian thought about it for a moment “It’s the big room next to the mechanical section. The one with all the bunks in it.”
Stephanie stopped walking and looked at him with a surprised expression. “You mean the on-call bunks?”
“I don’t know. If you say it’s the on-call bunks, I’m sure that’s what they are. I just found that place and grabbed a bed.”
“You’re telling me you never got a room?”
Brian’s face turned red. “When we got here, I was trying to save the vampires before they died. I didn’t do anything else. How could I? I just wish I hadn’t failed.” Brian looked down at the desk. He couldn’t make eye contact when he thought about the creatures whom he’d failed to save.
There was a moment of silence. She grabbed his hand again and pulled him down the hallway. “Come with me. We are going to get some food and rest. Then we will get you a proper room.”
The two made their way to the cafeteria and grabbed some fruit and salad. After the first bite of food, Brian realized how hungry he was. He tried to remember the last time he’d taken a break for a meal, but it had just been a series of snacks since he had been here. “Thanks for making me take a break. I’ll have to buy you a drink, sometime.”
“What do you mean? Like, alcohol?”
“Yeah. We have a great bar on New Haven called Tankards. They make the beer from the leftover bread grains. Is there a place like that here?”
“All we have here are cafeterias. Some people make wine. Others make a nasty, hard alcohol that they use as a cleaner, but you can mix it with juice and drink it. Why do you ask?”
“I just wanted to take you to a place we could hang out and relax. I never really thought about how limited space is here. You would like New Haven. It is really open and full of light. If we live long enough, I’ll take you there.”
“I’d like to see it. Agartha never seemed like it had limited space to me, but I’ve never known anything different. I’ve dreamt about walking around outside. It must be wonderful to look up at the sun and sky without risking your life.” She closed her eyes, imagining the world as she spoke.
Brian looked at the smooth skin of her face and ached to reach out and touch it. He hadn’t had a genuine conversation with a woman in a long while, and he knew he wanted to have many more with Stephanie.
The two finished their food, and Stephanie led them to the residential section of the city. It was really just a series of hallways lined with small rooms on either side. She stopped in front of one of the doors and used her keycard to open it.
Brian had a moment of disorientation as he stepped inside. The room was so different than the sterile hallways of Agartha that he felt like he’d walked into another world. The walls were lined with photographs. The ceiling of the eight foot by ten-foot room was covered with prints that formed one large picture. Brian recognized it as an image of earth from space. A spectacular blue sphere with oceans and continents partially masked by clouds. He had seen the image on his tablet in school. Looking at an eight-foot version overhead gave it a whole new life.
The walls were covered with various images, many of which Brian had never seen. There were pictures of waterfalls, deserts, creatures underwater in the ocean, mountains that touched the sky, herds of animals on the plains. One wall contained only pictures of people. One image showed dozens of people walking along a city street filled with cars and lights. Another was of a small girl standing in front of a vast canyon. The pictures took up every inch of space on the walls.
The only other things in the room were a bed, a sink with a mirror, and a chest for belongings. Brian stood in awe of the room.
“Sorry, I know that I’m a bit weird. I just started with one image and then it built up from there.” There was a slight flush in Stephanie’s cheeks that gave away her embarrassment at the room.
“Don’t be sorry. It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this.” He stepped further into the room and gazed at the pictures on the walls. “Where did you get all these?”
“We have some pretty extensive archives of data from before the war. I love looking through the images from the time before. Sometimes I print them out and add them to the collection. I know it’s really weird, but it reminds me of what possibilities are out there.” She walked over to the chest of drawers. “Would you mind turning around for a moment?”
Brian did as she asked and when he turned back she was wearing pajamas that consisted of light pants and a loose shirt.
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” she said. “I brought you here to sleep. Can I count on you to be a gentleman?”
Brian turned a dark shade of red. “Oh, yeah. I never thought this was going anywhere else. I mean, it’s not like I would be opposed to it going there sometime, but... That came out creepy.” He gathered himself. “Yes, I will be a gentleman. No funny business, here.”
Stephanie laughed. “I feel pretty safe with that answer. She tossed him a shirt from the chest. “You can sleep in that. It might be a little small, but it’s a step up from the clothes you’ve been wearing for the last week.”
Brian changed into the shirt and slid into the bed. Stephanie turned off the lights, and by the time she got into bed, Brian was asleep.
The two awoke to a loud banging on the door. A voice yelled, “Stephanie are you in there? We need you in the lab, now!”
Stephanie sprang to her feet and turned on the light. Brian jumped out of bed and started t
o change back into his clothes.
“I’m on my way,” she shouted. “Let me get dressed and I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Do you know where Brian is? I can’t find him.”
“I’ll grab him and meet you in the lab.”
Five minutes later the two entered the lab, still wiping the sleep from their eyes. Brian checked the clock; they had only been asleep for three hours. He didn’t know what this was about, but it had better be big. He had been woken from the best sleep he’d had in weeks, and he’d really wanted to wake up peacefully next to Stephanie.
“What’s going on?” Brian asked.
The closest tech simply pointed to the window to the examination room. It was the same room in which Frank had been tested a few days ago. Now, a different Twisted sat on the examination table. Brian just stared in shock for a moment. His first thought was that they had captured one of Maryana’s soldiers, but this Twisted was not restrained in any way.
“Holy shit!” Stephanie said. “Is that Chad? What the hell is going on?” She looked as confused as Brian felt.
“Yep, that’s Chad.” the tech replied. “I’ll let him tell you about it himself.”
“Who’s Chad?” Brian asked.
“One of the security staff. He’s like one of your badges,” Stephanie said, as they stepped into the exam room. She turned to the creature on the table. “What happened?”
“Hey Stephanie,” the Twisted said, his voice a bit slurred by his oversized teeth. “I’m sorry, but this needed to be done. Jaden left us defenseless. We just don’t have the strength to protect ourselves.”
“Jaden is out there protecting us right now. How did you become Twisted?” Stephanie could not take her eyes off of the deformed guard.
“He injected himself with one of our blood samples,” Brian said, as the realization hit him. “I need to know, which one did you use?”
Chad didn’t meet his eyes. “Look, I just wanted to give us a chance, if there is an attack while Jaden is gone. Hell, he may never come back. Someone had to step up.” He seemed to be trying to convince himself as much as Brian and Stephanie.
“What sample did you use?” Brian repeated.
He pointed to a now-empty vial on the table next to him. “I didn’t inject myself. I just cut my arm and poured the blood over the cut. The change was much worse than I thought it would be.”
Brian looked at the label on the vial. The blood had come from Owl.
12
The transport truck rumbled and bounced along the broken road as the GMT sped north, away from the nuclear silo and the Twisted chasing after them.
Alex glanced back through her side view mirror. The Twisted were gaining on them as they drove along this nearly ruined road. While the broken asphalt slowed their truck, the Twisted were able to run across it at top speed. Three of them were now close enough that even her human eyes could easily make them out.
“Can’t this thing go any faster?” she shouted.
Chuck grimaced as he pressed the pedal down a bit harder, increasing their speed a couple of miles per hour. “Should we be concerned about the nuclear warhead? I assume jostling it around like this isn’t exactly safe.”
Jaden clutched the warhead to his chest. “Don’t worry about the unlikely possibility of the warhead exploding. Worry about the very real possibility that the Twisted are going to catch us and rip out our throats.”
Alex got out of her seat and turned toward the back of the truck. “The rest of you, get ready. It’s almost time to engage. Felix and Ed, your job is to pick off as many of them as you can before they get to us. Jaden, Frank, and Owl, get ready, you’ll have to take out any that get close. Questions?” She paused long enough to ensure there were none. “Good. Let’s light these bastards up.”
She moved toward the back of the truck with Ed and Felix. The small, slotted window wasn’t big enough. In order to give all three of them access to shoot, they had to throw one of the doors open. It banged and rattled against the side of the transport. Alex raised her rifle and looked through the scope at one of the charging Twisted. For a moment, she wondered whose face might be hiding under that mask. She was familiar with enough of the badges that there was a good chance she knew the Twisted’s name. But she quickly pushed the thought away. These were the enemy, acting under Maryana’s complete control. If they wanted a chance at stopping New Haven, there was no time for sentimentality. Alex took aim again, trying to account for the jostling of the truck, and fired. The Twisted was knocked backward, a bullet through his head.
She lowered her rifle and took stock of the situation. Ed had dropped a Twisted, but Felix had missed his shot, hitting his target in the stomach. The creature still sprinted forward, a hand over its wound. Alex raised her rifle and finished him off.
“Guys, we’ve got some rough road ahead!” Chuck shouted. “I have to slow down a little.”
“Wonderful,” Ed muttered.
Alex grimaced. She could see a dozen Twisted. They were moving in quickly, taking advantage of the truck’s loss of speed. This time it was Alex who missed her mark. The truck hit an unlucky bump, jarring her just as she fired, and her shot went wide. As if in response, the Twisted surged forward with an insane burst of speed. Alex raised her weapon, but Jaden touched her shoulder.
“I got him,” he said.
As the Twisted approached the back of the truck, Jaden slid toward it, the warhead held in one hand and his sword in the other. He swung the blade with blinding speed, neatly removing the Twisted’s head from its body.
“Nice,” Alex said, as Jaden stepped back, giving Felix room to reclaim his position. “Now we just need to—”
Out of nowhere, a Twisted leaped at the back of the transport. Somehow, it must have gotten alongside them. Its leap appeared to be short, but at the last moment, it snaked out one deformed hand and caught Felix’s ankle.
Felix let out a grunt of surprise as he fell, dragged from the truck by the Twisted. Frank surged forward, grabbing Felix’s hand and holding tight. Felix dangled from the back of the truck, careening wildly from side to side, the Twisted hanging onto his ankle.
Alex dropped her rifle and drew a pistol off of her belt, aiming it with a two-handed grip, but it was no use. Felix was bouncing around too much; there was no way she could hit the Twisted without risking putting a bullet in her teammate. As she watched, the Twisted held fast to Felix’s ankle with his right hand and reached up with his left, sinking his talons into Felix’s thigh. He pulled himself up a bit, let go of the ankle and sank the claws of his right hand into Felix’s stomach.
Felix cried out as the Twisted clawed his way up, digging into his body and using it for leverage. Alex still couldn’t get a clean shot, and she cursed in frustration. Her guy was being torn to shreds, and there wasn’t anything she could do for him.
Suddenly, something brushed past her, and Owl was crouched next to Frank, who still clung to Felix’s hand. She leaned down at an angle that would have been impossible for Alex and jammed her pistol against the Twisted’s head. Then she pulled the trigger. The creature let out a yelp as it fell away from Felix, and its body bounced twice when it hit the broken pavement.
Frank hauled Felix inside, and Alex ran her eyes up and down him, trying to gauge the extent of his injuries. His leg was bleeding badly, but she was more concerned about the lacerations in his stomach.
No sooner had Frank set Felix down than another Twisted leaped at them. This one’s jump was not short, and he landed soundly in the truck, shoving Owl roughly aside as he charged at his target.
The warhead, Alex quickly realized. He was going after the warhead in Jaden’s hand. Unwilling to fire her pistol in the transport, she started to draw her sword, but the Twisted spun and slammed his hand down on hers, shoving her half-drawn sword back into its scabbard.
Ed charged, wrapping his arms around the Twisted’s midsection and knocking it backward, against the side of the truck. The Twisted hissed and delivered
a mean backhand, sending Ed onto his ass.
Alex was about to make another attempt at drawing her sword when Frank let out a fierce growl. He lunged forward, hands outstretched, and dug his claws into the Twisted’s chest. He pulled them back and struck again, digging at the creature’s rib cage with a ferocity Alex had never seen, until he finally sank his claws into the Twisted’s heart. Then he tossed the body out the back of the transport.
“Damn, Frank!” Ed said as he got to his feet. “You sure go berserk a lot for a guy who doesn’t like to fight.”
Frank looked down at his blood-covered talons, an expression of horror on his face. “That’s not me,” he said. “Not the real me.”
Owl shook her head in awe. “Whoever it was, I hope he sticks around. That wasn’t the last of them.”
Alex couldn’t disagree. She could see more of them in the distance, chasing after the truck, trying to close the gap. “They’re getting smart. Attacking from the flanks instead of from the back.”
The radio came to life with a burst of static, and then a familiar voice came through it. “I’m almost to your location,” George said. “I see you on the road.”
Alex marched to the front of the truck and looked through the windshield, scanning the open sky. She spotted the ship a bit to the north. To her relief, it was still pretty high. She snatched the radio off the dash. “George, we’ve got a lot of Twisted down here. Don’t risk getting below five hundred feet until we give you the all clear.”
“Listen, we don’t have a lot of time,” he replied.
“What do you mean?” Alex asked.
“Everything went according to plan, at first,” George said. “I led New Haven a hundred miles away and landed in the mountains, so they lost track of me. I kept them on the hook as long as I could, cat-and-mousing them, but thirty minutes ago, they started heading south again.”