Until My Dying Day

by S. C. Stokes

  Kasey stared at the brick wall. The scale of Akihiro’s illusory barrier was staggering. The entire wall of the chamber itself was actually some kind of enchantment.

  “Morales, you keep a lookout while the technician dismantles that C4. The rest of you, let's go.” Kasey led the strike force back through the immense subbasement.

  Reaching the illusion, she weighed her options. At a glance, she wasn't sure what type of ward Akihiro had conjured. Was it simply an optical illusion? Or was it actually a barrier that would prevent them from gaining entrance to the tunnel beyond?

  Not willing to leave anything to chance, Kasey picked up a loose brick and hurled it at the wall. When the brick struck the wall, the surface shimmered, a series of ripples radiating out from the point of impact. For a passing moment, the place where the brick had impacted the wall became translucent, revealing the enormous tunnel leading away from the chamber.

  Then, as quickly as they had appeared, the ripples ceased, and the wall appeared as it had before: a normal unassuming brick wall.

  The brick Kasey had thrown landed back at her feet. The fact the brick had bounced back meant that the conjuration wasn't simply an illusion—it was a barrier. There was no way of telling exactly what might happen if she touched it and yet if they wanted to reach the tunnel, they were going have to pass through it.

  “It's an enchantment,” Sanders said from nearby. “Just like any other, it can only take so much punishment. We need to destroy it.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Kasey asked as she turned to face him.

  “Direct assault,” Sanders answered. “There is no way that barrier can stand up to a sustained attack from all of us. If we bring enough firepower to bear on it, we will drain its power source and it will collapse on itself.” He glanced at his team. “Ready yourselves, agents. On my mark.”

  The ADI agents drew deep, summoning their power. Kasey could feel it immediately, the steady thrum of arcane energy building in the chamber. It was as if the area itself was electrified. The combined might of so many magical beings was intense.

  “ Bael!” Sanders chanted.

  Torrents of fire leapt from his outstretched hands. The firestorm bathed the wall in an instant inferno. The barrier flickered as the fire played across its surface, but nonetheless it held firm against the assault.

  Lightning arced at the barrier as another agent joined Sanders. The lightning raced across the barrier before earthing itself in the dirt. Next, dozens of lances of arcane energy of every hue and color struck the barrier, carving into it like a barrage of arcane lasers. The barrier glowed as its enchantment bowed under the arcane assault.

  The illusion flickered. The bricks disappeared completely from sight as the enchanted wall faltered and then collapsed in on itself in a blinding flash of energy.

  Kasey shielded her eyes. When she looked again, the tunnel stood before her, more than twenty feet in diameter. It ran away from the subbasement.

  A narrow strip of lighting hung from the roof, casting a dim glow along the subterranean accessway.

  Sanders raised his hand and the ADI ceased their assault.

  Kasey approached the tunnel. She stepped forward onto the dirt and then crouched down to examine it. Two deep rows of tread marks ran into the tunnel, almost twelve feet apart.

  “Sanders, check this out,” she said without looking up. “These have to have come from the machine doing the boring for them. You can see the trail its left right here.”

  Sanders ducked down beside her. “Yup, Akihiro is definitely a clever cookie. He must've known that he couldn't use magic to carve the tunnel. It would have been too much energy to escape the Arcane Council's notice. Particularly this deep beneath the earth, we would have been immediately suspicious of it. Using a machine allowed him to escape detection. At any given time, there is boring going on beneath the city. It would be easy to camouflage his intentions here. Look, you can see where they have braced the tunnel as they have gone.”

  He pointed at the steel framework that braced the walls and roof of the tunnel to ensure it didn't collapse.

  “Well, we have what we were looking for,” Kasey said, standing. “These tracks will lead us straight to wherever the machine is. I'll bet that tremor was Akihiro accelerating his plan. He knows we have breached the building. We need to stop that machine before he can detonate its payload.”

  “You’re going to go down there?” Henley asked.

  Kasey shot him a sideways look. “Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark there, big guy.”

  He fidgeted as he shook his head. “Don’t be silly, it's not the dark—it’s the confined spaces that do it for me. I’ve never been a fan. The thought of that much ground on top of me, it’s difficult to breath.” He sucked in a deep breath. “One thing goes wrong, and we could all be buried alive.”

  Kasey nodded. “I guess we better tread carefully then. Come on, let's go. The sooner we stop it, the sooner we can get the hell out of here.”

  Henley exhaled loudly as he followed her into the tunnel.

  In her heart, she didn't blame them. They were hundreds of feet beneath the ground, in a makeshift tunnel dug by a lunatic who had every intention of blowing it up and bringing the city crashing down on top of it. If they were too late, they would all be dead.

  She took a deep breath of her own to calm her racing heart, but it was in vain.

  She was too close to calm down. The adrenaline pumped through her veins as she lengthened her pace, plunging deeper into the tunnel.

  The underground passageway thrust downward. The angle of the descent was almost thirty degrees. Over the mile of its length, the downward descent would give it the extra depth Akihiro needed to reach the serpentinite deposit.

  Vida's guess had been spot on. He was uncannily intuitive. No doubt if they lived through the ordeal, Kasey would never hear the end of his gloating.

  As they descended deeper into the tunnel beneath New York City, a steady thrum filled the air. It seemed to grow in volume with every step forward.

  “That'll be the machine,” Sanders said. “We must be getting close.”

  The entire tunnel seemed to vibrate. The machine was definitely hard at work, moving inexorably toward its destination.

  “We have to pick up the pace,” Kasey replied. “Any moment now, they could detonate the weapon. Even if we were to stop it short of its destination, who knows how much damage it would still do.”

  She picked up her pace until she was almost running. Unlike the subbasement, the floor of the tunnel remained unfinished. It was largely gravel, rocks, and dirt that had been compacted as the bulky machine had passed over it. One misstep would see her on her ass, and a twisted ankle was a fate she just could not afford.

  Even as the thought passed through her mind, she slipped on a loose rock. The rock shot down the tunnel and her legs went out from under her. She slammed onto her butt and slid down the incline. Her arms flailed outward, trying to slow her descent. Gravel dug at her skin.

  Finally, she ground to a halt.

  When she opened her eyes, she found Sanders standing over her with his hand outstretched.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, peering down at her.

  “Yeah, I'm fine. It's mostly my ego that’s bruised.”

  She grabbed Sanders’ hand, and he pulled her to her feet. She took a step but her tailbone groaned its protest.

  “On second thought, I’m still a little bit tender,” she replied.

  “Need a hand?” Henley asked, appearing beside Sanders.

  Kasey shook her head. “It’s all good. It’s going to take more than a few bruises and a hurt ego to stop me now.”

  Resuming a more measured pace, the strike force continued down the tunnel.

  The tunneling sound ahead grew louder and louder. Kasey knew they must be nearing their mark, but it was difficult to measure distance in the semi-darkness.

  She was so focused on her target, the tunnel boring machine, that she mi
ssed the black-clad assassins that emerged from the shadows.

  The Shinigami acolytes materialized like wraiths. It was only the light reflecting off a raised blade that caught Kasey’s eye.

  Kasey whirled as the wickedly curved blade closed at her throat.

  “Kasey, look out!” Henley called.

  Time slowed as the blade arced toward her exposed throat.

  The assassin was close, too close to duck; she would end up taking the blade in her face. Instead, she threw her arms up, a last-ditch attempt to save her exposed neck from the blade. A sharp sting shot through her as the blade bit into her forearm.

  Then, out of nowhere, a shadow shot past Kasey.

  Like a rampaging bull, it crashed into the assassin, wrenching the blade away before it could cut too deeply.

  The assassin hit the ground hard with Henley on top of him. The assassin raised the blade as Henley drew back his fist. Henley’s jab thundered into the assailant’s face. The knife dropped from his hand as he collapsed unconscious.

  Other Shinigami acolytes materialized from the darkness. They launched themselves at the strike force without a word. With the sound of the machine drowning out the melee in the tunnel, the assailants drew knives and pistols as the tunnel brawl devolved into close quarters fighting.

  Kasey ducked an assassin that was swinging wildly in an attempt to take off her head. Grabbing the assassin’s shoulders, she drove her knee straight into his crotch. As the man buckled over, Kasey wrenched the knife from his hand and threw it at another acolyte that was charging toward her. The blade turned as it sliced through the air before coming to a halt, blade first as it lodged in the man's chest. The Shinigami dropped to his knees gasping for air, likely the result of a punctured lung.

  Kasey changed her grip on the Shinigami in her hands and broke his neck as a beam of arcane energy sliced past her. The spell bore straight through a Shinigami acolyte before tracing a blazing trail along the tunnel wall. It sheared clean through a support beam. A three-foot section of the beam broke free and fell to the ground with a thud. Dirt and dust rained down from the ceiling as the tunnel threatened to collapse.

  “No magic!” Kasey shouted at the agent who had cast the spell. “You'll bring the whole tunnel down on top of us. That's why they're only using their knives. They don't want to risk bringing down the tunnel.”

  The ADI agent nodded and drew his pistol.

  Kasey turned back to the task at hand. The Shinigami flooded toward them in a mass of bodies and blades. As she readied herself, the lead Shinigami raised a pistol. The steel barrel was leveled directly at her. At this distance, he wouldn’t miss.

  She stared down the jet-black barrel and began to chant. She prayed the defensive ward would form in time but before she could finish the words, the Shinigami's head exploded. Kasey glanced back to see Sanders with this service weapon raised. Thin wisps of smoke rose from its barrel.

  Kasey nodded her appreciation before throwing herself back into the fray. It was close quarters tunnel fighting at its deadliest. Pistols barked as they fired, the gunshots puncturing through the incessant whirring of the tunnel boring machine.

  In the swirling melee, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe.

  The next Shinigami she came face to face with, she grabbed his wrist and drove it into her knee. He dropped his knife but reached for a holster at the small of his back. As he drew his pistol, Kasey grabbed his wrist and twisted it. She wrenched the weapon from his grasp, then pistol whipped him with bone-shattering force. His head snapped around like a rag doll before he dropped to the floor unconscious. Changing her grip, Kasey emptied the pistol into the charging Shinigami, bringing down three more of them. As the weapon clicked empty, she hurled it straight at the head of the fourth Shinigami who was struggling over the bodies of his fallen comrades.

  Kasey ducked under the man's right jab, but he reached out and grabbed her with his left hand. As Kasey struggled to break his grip he doubled down, grabbing Kasey in a complete bear hug. Kasey stomped on his foot in an effort to loosen his grasp, but the hulking bear of a man simply squeezed her tighter. With a grunt, he lifted her clear off the ground.

  Kasey squirmed struggled to be free of him, but the thug hurled her at the ground. She shielded her head to cushion her fall. If she struck a rock, she could easily be knocked unconscious, and in the murderous confines of the tunnel that would mean certain death at the hands of the Shinigami acolytes.

  She hit the ground hard, gasping as the air was driven from her lungs. She fought for her breath as the Shinigami loomed over her. His brown eyes stared into hers with utter contempt. When Kasey tried to rise, he drove a punishing boot into her kidneys. Kasey rolled with the blow but still it hurt like hell. She groaned in pain as the Shinigami drew back to sink his boot in once more. She couldn’t take another blow. She lunged out with her right leg, putting everything she had into the kick. Her boot connected with the side of the Shinigami's knee.

  Her mouth turned up in satisfaction as she heard the joint shatter with a sickening crunch the Shinigami collapsed to the ground. Kasey rolled on top of him and punched him in the face. The Shinigami was dazed but still managed to wrap his big meaty hands around her windpipe and squeeze.

  Kasey searched about desperately with her hands. Feeling something hard, she closed her fingers around the rock. She lifted it and slammed it into his face. The Shinigami's arms went slack as he lost consciousness. From the blood streaming down his face, Kasey suspected he was about to lose his life.

  There was no time for pity though. Kasey shoved the bleeding body aside and struggled to her feet. She surveyed the swirling melee.

  All about her, the ADI were locked in a struggle against the Shinigami. It was difficult to discern just how many Shinigami were in the tunnel, but when Kasey considered those that they had dispatched upstairs, and on the street outside, she knew that they had woefully miscalculated the amount of support Akihiro had at his disposal. Kasey could feel her hope hanging by a thread. They were so close to the machine, and yet for everything she had been through, for every agonizing inch of ground that they had gained, it felt like it would never be enough.

  You can't think like that. Your entire life, you have been seeing this damn attack. The visions, being hunted by the Shinigami, it had all led you here. Millions of lives hang in the balance and they're all counting on you. So, stop feeling so damn sorry for yourself, and kick their asses.

  Kasey threw herself back into the fray with renewed vigor. The first Shinigami to come within her reach took a throat punch for his efforts. While the acolyte struggled for breath, Kasey grabbed his hand, twisted his wrist, and fired the pistol straight through his chest. As he dropped, Kasey wrenched the pistol from his grasp.

  The next Shinigami took a double tap to the chest and collapsed, gurgling as he went down. Reaching down, Kasey relieved him of his weapon also.

  Armed with a pistol in each hand, she worked her way through the melee. Henley struggled with two Shinigami pinning him down. One of them raised his blade and drove it into Henley’s chest. As the blade struck the Kevlar, it snapped at the hilt. The Shinigami recoiled, still brandishing the broken blade, and lunged for Henley's face.

  Kasey's pistol was faster, dropping the murderous Shinigami with a single shot to the head. A moment later, the second Shinigami joined his friend in the realm of the departed.

  Kasey moved through the battle, emptying the magazine into the Shinigami at point-blank range. When the pistols ran dry, she grabbed the next Shinigami to come within range and hurled him into the wall. He slammed into the steel support and as he bounced off, Kasey coat-hangered him to the ground. Following him down, she wrapped herself around him in a sleeper grip, slowly and purposefully tightening her grasp. He fought against her grasp, but as the seconds crawled by, Kasey felt him go limp in her arms.

  She hunted for her next victim, but there was none.

  As suddenly as it had begun, the fight was over. Kasey hu
rled the unconscious Shinigami out of her path and got to her feet.

  Sanders strode over to her. His eyes were wide, and his brow was deeply furrowed.

  Kasey knew that look; he was worried.

  He stopped in front of her. “Kasey, are you okay? You're covered in blood.”

  She looked down and realized it was true. Lancets of her own blood ran down her arms, the results of the first assailant’s knife. Her clothes were covered in dust and blood from the Shinigami ambush. She wiped her brow and her hand came away red. Feeling at her head, she searched for the wound but found none.

  Relieved, she replied, “Don't worry, Sanders, it's not mine. At least not for the most part. We need to keep moving though. We’re almost out of time.”

  As if in agreement, the tunnel shuddered as another tremor ran through it.

  “Alright,” Sanders replied, gesturing toward her. “Lead the way.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Kasey charged down the tunnel. The vibrations continued to intensify as she descended, the strike force right behind her. With the Shinigami ambush dispatched, they made swift progress on their descent.

  The grinding noise from the tunnel boring machine grew until they were able to hear nothing else.

  Sweat ran down her brow, not only from her exertion but from the temperature in the tunnel. It seemed to rise the farther they went. The beads of sweat ran down her face and off her cheek, before landing on her bullet-proof vest. She strove to pace herself and control her breathing. She'd spent enough time running to know that the more oxygen she was able to pump to her exhausted extremities, the better her limbs would respond to combat the buildup of lactic acid.

  Up ahead, a glimmer of silver caught her eye.

  It's the machine.

  She glanced back over her shoulder. Sanders was right behind her as were the other agents. Henley loped along behind them, bringing up the rear. The enormous backpack he carried with him brought Kasey comfort. The signal jammer would hopefully prevent Akihiro from detonating the device entirely. For a moment, Kasey imagined the look on his face as he pressed the button to activate the device but nothing happened. Years of his life had been poured into bringing this plan to fruition. He’d spent years gambling that he would be able to stay the hand of death indefinitely. His agitation would be extreme, and his response would be deadly. He couldn’t make it out of the building alive.