Rebellion (Zero Series)

by Huth, Jacob

  “Of course. My hope is that we will be able to acquire that before we spring the spikers. Once we free them, it will be pandemonium inside Tartarus. It will basically be an all out rush to the front gate with our army,” Synapse said.

  “I had a thought,” Frost said.

  “What’s that?” Synapse asked.

  “Since we are going to be inside one of the most heavily guarded Kraken facilities, shouldn’t we try to cripple it in some way?” Frost asked.

  “What did you have in mind?” Vine asked.

  “I was thinking that you and Zero were going to be entering through the sewer, what if you were to plant explosives underneath the building? We could operate them remotely and once they explode, they could serve as a distraction so the spikers can escape,” Frost replied.

  Synapse thought on it for a moment. “I suppose we could try that. The only problem I see us running into is accidentally blowing up our exit,” she said.

  “That would be a problem. We could use some of the spikers’ powers to blow our way out if that happens,” I suggested.

  “We have some explosives here in the armory. We can attach a remote signal detonator to each of the explosive packs,” said Vine.

  “We could operate them from here while we monitor your progress through your earpieces. We installed GPS trackers in the units for this mission,” Flint said.

  “Alright then. We have a plan I guess. We leave in one hour. I will see you to the sewer and then you follow the map I’m going to give you which will lead you into the heart of the facility. I will meet you at the end of the tunnel. Everyone get ready. We need to be at our best. One small slip up could mean the end of us,” Synapse said.

  Everyone sat quietly for a minute before dispersing. It didn’t seem smart to start preparations after such a depressing thought. Jet and I adjourned to our room. When we approached the door, there was a case sitting outside the room. There was a “V” symbol on a tag which indicated to me that Vine had left it for me. I pushed it into the room and placed it by the bed. Jet opened up a small laptop and started typing away at the keyboard. “What are you doing on that?” I asked.

  “I am going over your route through the tunnel again. I just want you two to be safe,” Jet replied.

  “It’s a straight shot through the tunnel into the facility. We’ll be fine,” I said.

  “What if there is something we hadn’t planned for? We need to be prepared for everything,” she said in a panicked tone.

  I could see the emotional toll the war, the missions, the threat of losing everyone she loves, and all other stressors setting in. I sat down next to her and closed the laptop.

  “What was that for? I need to work!” she said with tears in her eyes.

  “Look at me,” I said caressing her face with my hand, “I’m going to come back. I’m going to bring our army. I’m going to save Flare and Frost, and I’m going to come back to you.”

  “You better,” she said wiping the tears from her eyes, “What’s in the case?”

  “I don’t know. I was about to take a look,” I said. I opened the latch on the front of the case and lifted the top half to reveal a new set of armor. It was a deep black. Deeper than a normal black. I felt like I was staring into the deepest corner of space. On the center of the chest, there was a Z carved in it. There was a note inside the box that read, “This armor is camouflage equipped. Put it on and get ready.”

  “What does camouflage equipped mean?” I asked Jet.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t know he had this,” she replied.

  I slipped the armor on and clicked the two clips on the left side to fasten it. There was a hood on it which he had evidently had installed for me. I put the hood up and pulled the black mask over my mouth. “Don’t forget the leg pieces,” Jet said handing them to me.

  I grabbed them and put them on over my pants. Once I had fastened the belt, I stood still waiting for something to happen. “Is this it?” I asked.

  “I guess so. Maybe he meant it camouflages you at night,” she said, “Oh, your belt buckle is crooked.”

  She reached out and twisted the circular belt buckle clockwise. The look on her face turned to one of surprise. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Hold up your hand,” she said. I lifted my arm up and was shocked to see nothing there. The armor had completely hidden me. Somehow I had turned invisible and blended in with the surrounding environment. I twisted the buckle back and became visible. “I guess that’s what it meant,” she said.

  “This is going to be helpful. I thought we were going to try to sneak around normally,” I said.

  “I want you to be extra careful. Even with this, you aren’t invincible. I’ve heard horror stories about Tartarus. Nobody comes back,” she said.

  “I will. We have too much riding on this mission for us to be careless. I have to come back to you. We are going to turn this city around,” I said as reassuringly as possible.

  I kissed her on the forehead and gathered up the rest of the gear we had prepared earlier that day for the mission. I proceeded into the main room to see Vine waiting in his own specialized armor. It had slots on the top and bottom of the wrists to allow him to grow his plants in whip or sword form without ruining the structure of the armor.

  “Are you ready?” he asked me.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said.

  The group walked silently to the exit. Synapse and Vine exited the bunker but before I could follow, a hand grabbed me. I looked back and saw Flint holding my arm. “Zero, listen carefully. You have to come back alive. If you aren’t able to free the spikers, you have to escape. The rebellion needs you. More importantly, Jet needs you. After losing Ruby, she can’t lose you too,” he said.

  “Without the spikers, we won’t be able to defeat Armageddon,” I said.

  “Without you it won’t matter if they unleash Armageddon or not. You inspire people. You have a natural knack to lead. You are the rallying point in this movement. Please, if you don’t do this for me, then do it for Jet,” he said.

  “I will be back,” I replied.

  “One more thing. Do not linger there too long. You may run across something you aren’t prepared for. Get in and get out as quickly as you can,” he said.

  I nodded and held my hand out to shake his but instead of shaking, he reached up and hugged me. He released me and gave me an approving nod. I joined Vine and Synapse as we set off through the city. We passed by building after building. The city was falling apart quickly. Kraken’s normal patrols had stopped since they were trying to preserve their forces. Darkness blanketed the city and provided excellent cover for us to move undetected. “It’s amazing isn’t it?” Vine asked.

  “What’s amazing?” Synapse said.

  “This city. I never thought that the people would get behind a movement after the last rebellion was obliterated,” he said.

  “It is quite resilient. When I was a Kraken agent, we found resistance from many of the people we were sent to shake down or take in. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone was able to spark rebellion in this city,” Synapse said.

  “Why did you continue working for Kraken? Why didn’t you try to start a rebellion?” I asked.

  “It was all about earning money. I have been looking out for number one since I was a kid. I align with who is in power. When I see an obvious shift in power coming I seek self preservation,” she answered.

  “What kind of life is that? Don’t you feel like you are missing something by not believing in something?” Vine asked.

  “I believe in keeping myself safe and wealthy. It doesn’t matter who is in power. I only need myself to be happy, not friends,” she said.

  “That’s a bummer,” I said.

  “It doesn’t matter. You don’t get the luxury of having friends when you’re born a spiker,” she said.

  “You were a birther too?” Vine asked.

  “Unfortunately. I often wonder what my life would have be
en like if I hadn’t been born with a spike,” she said.

  “We wouldn’t have met probably,” Vine said obviously trying to flirt with her. The look of disgust on her face was cutting and powerful. She sped up her pace and was walking a few feet in front of us. I reached up and patted Vine’s shoulder.

  “Nice try man,” I said.

  “I don’t get it. I have tried everything. She must really not like me,” he replied.

  “Maybe she has allergies,” I joked. Vine made a sarcastic laughing expression at me and then scoffed. We walked in silence after that. After a forty five minute trek, Synapse held her hand up to stop us.

  “We’re at the tunnel,” she said pointing to a large, grimy pond. On the left bank of the water was a metal pipe that was about ten feet in circumference. We started to move toward the tunnel when I heard a noise from the nearby shore. It was the sound of radio chatter. Two Kraken agents strolled out of the shadows toward the pipe and I grabbed Vine and Synapse. I pulled them down behind a nearby bush and whispered, “Quiet.”

  I peeked up over the bush and saw the two men entering the sewer pipe. They had bags of tools and night vision goggles. “Maintenance workers,” I whispered.

  “What do we do?” Vine asked.

  “We need to just wait. If those guys don’t return to Tartarus then it will be obvious that someone is trying to break in,” Synapse said.

  “Let’s just wait here,” Vine said putting his hands up. He closed his eyes and made the bush grow. It became a dome that covered us and allowed us to still observe the tunnel entrance.

  “This is going to be a while. Their maintenance protocol is very thorough. Zero and I can take the first watch. You should get some sleep Vine. You will need to be at your best. Your spike is integral to the plan,” Synapse said. He nodded and made a small, soft bush grow out of the ground. He laid his head on it as a pillow and dozed off. Synapse and I sat for around two hours before either of us said anything.

  “I do miss having friends,” Synapse finally said.

  “Why don’t you? You obviously didn’t like Prism and Golem but surely you had to have other friends at some point,” I said.

  “Prism and Golem were assigned to my team by Kraken. I would not have chosen either of those dillweeds. Both were selfish and headstrong. Neither wanted to listen to my commands,” she said staring out towards the sky. “I haven’t had a true friend since Sky.”

  “Who is Sky?” I asked.

  “Sky was my girlfriend and my best friend,” she replied still staring out.

  “What happened to her?” I asked tentatively.

  “About ten years ago, we were both twenty one and loving life. We lived up north in the mountains and worked in a small village of about two hundred people. We were so happy together and she made me feel whole. She was so beautiful. Her hair was a pure blonde and her eyes were the most vibrant blue you had ever seen. One day while I was out picking up groceries, I heard an explosion coming from the direction of our cabin. I ran back up the hill through the snow to find our cabin, along with five other cabins, burning to the ground. There was a man in a metal suit of some kind standing near our cabin. I tried to attack him with my spike but he activated some sort of jetpack and flew off. I still have no idea why he destroyed our cabins. I searched the wreckage of the cabins but I never found Sky. I can’t imagine the horror of her final moments. After that I came to this country and joined Kraken. I started out with the intention of using their resources to locate the man who ruined my life and who killed Sky,” she said with tears starting to form in her eyes.

  “Wow. I had no idea,” I said.

  “Over time I was unable to locate him and as the years passed, I felt the hopelessness grow. I started dulling the pain with vices. I had more money than I knew what to do with so I indulged in shady things to lose myself,” she said.

  “Once we take Kraken down, I will help you find the man in the metal suit myself. We’ll find him and make him pay for what he did,” I said.

  “Why would you help me?” she asked.

  “I know what it’s like to lose people close to me. I want to help bring closure and peace to people who have experienced the same thing,” I replied.

  She smiled and wiped the tears away from her eyes. “You are a good man. Jet is lucky,” she said.

  “No I am. I don’t deserve her,” I said.

  “If what I heard about you being in the Pit is true, then you deserve her and a peaceful life. Not many people who leave the Pit can come to grips with reality. Their torture methods are pretty heinous,” she said.

  “I just want to bring Kraken down so we can all live quiet lives,” I said.

  She out her hair up in a bun and said, “Wake Vine up. It’s time.”

  I looked out of the bush and saw the two maintenance men leaving the area I tapped Vine’s shoulder and he slowly woke up. He came into a sitting position and asked, “Is it time?”

  I nodded and he made the dome bush recede to its normal size. “Okay. You two go into the tunnel and follow it until you reach the grate that opens to the barracks lockers. I will make my way down there. It could take a little longer than I planned since I haven’t checked in with Kraken in days. I’m going to rough myself and my clothes up and say I was unconscious and taken prisoner,” she said.

  “Alright. Be careful in there. We will meet you at the grate,” I said. She set off towards Tartarus and I looked at Vine.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  “As I’ll ever be,” he said. I pulled my hood up and he grew vines around his mouth. We waded through the murky pond and into the sewage tunnel. We trekked through the grime for miles when we came upon a gap. The grime was running off in a waterfall fashion and about ten feet away was the continuation of the path. It looked as if there was a bridge but it had fallen.

  “I wonder if those maintenance guys did this by accident,” Vine said.

  “I don’t know. We need to cross the gap though,” I said.

  “I got this,” Vine said holding his hands out. He dropped a couple of seeds and large plants emerged from them creating a walkway across the gap. He crossed over them carefully and I began to follow. Halfway across, I felt eyes on us. I turned my head back and saw a figure standing at the edge of the walkway where Vine had dropped the seeds. The figure was made completely of water and seemed to merge with the sewage that was flowing along the path. He had a face but no defined features. It was almost blurred out and unformed from being made of water. I saw him reach down and smash the seeds. Without thinking, I put my arms out to the sides and shot a force blast in each direction. I pushed Vine onto the other pathway and blew the water man away. It was too late for me though. Once he smashed the seeds, the walkway disappeared and I plummeted. I smashed into the hard ground and was knocked unconscious. I was awoken by vines wrapping around my arms and shoulders. They slowly lifted me up to the walkway where I drifted out of consciousness again.

  I bolted awake and found myself sitting on the ground and leaning against a wall. Vine was sitting nearby manipulating some seeds. “Good you’re awake. How do you feel?” he asked.

  “I think I’m okay. How long was I out?” I asked.

  “Half an hour tops,” he said, “When I pulled you up from the pipe, you had a couple fractures in your wrist and left hand. I knew I just had to wait for your accelerated healing to kick in.”

  “Thanks. Did he come back?” I asked.

  “Who?” Vine asked.

  “The water guy,” I replied.

  Vine looked at me in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

  “When I fell, there was a man made of water who crushed the seeds to destroy the walkway. I shot a force blast at him too before I fell but I didn’t know if he’d be back,” I said.

  “Oh I’m back,” a raspy voice said from the darkness behind us. We both turned quickly to see the water man standing near us. His features were still undefined except for a watery mouth tha
t had very long sharp teeth in it.

  “Who are you?” Vine asked.

  “Melt. I patrol the water for Kraken to make sure no one is trying to sneak in. Looks like I found some sneaky rats,” he said. He started to vibrate and he changed from the form of a man to the form of a dragon. He still was clear as he was when he was in man form but his size grew and he moved much more swiftly. I shot force blasts at him and he split himself into large globs of water around where my blasts went. He reformed into the shape of a large cobra and slithered toward us. He moved swiftly and seamlessly around the tunnel. Vine and I ran towards him and attempted to hit him. Our blows weren’t affecting him due to his watery composition. I began shooting force pulses to knock him back.

  “We need a plan!” I yelled, “This won’t hold him off for long!”

  Vine knelt down and began to dig through his seed pouch. He pulled out a handful of seeds and hurled them towards Melt. They made contact with the ground and Vine tensed up. He threw his hands up and began to manipulate the seeds. Large green bulblike plants emerged. They were covered in prickly spines and the skin had a waxy hue. They started to absorb the water and continued to grow. Melt was still striking ferociously as I blasted him back repeatedly. Vine continued to throw seeds and make the large spiky plants grow. Melt dodged one of my blasts and knocked my legs out from under me. I fell and my back crashed into the water. Melt transformed again and took the form of a man but his arm was in the shape of an axe. He raised it over his head, readying it to strike me. He swung his arm downward but his hand disappeared halfway down. He looked quickly towards it and his body began to disappear as well. All of the water on the ground was being sucked towards Vine’s strange plants. He began to claw at the ground as he was being sucked into their bases. In a matter of seconds, he was completely gone. I lay bewildered on the ground.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  “They are a variation on a cactus,” Vine said.

  “What is a cactus?” I asked.

  “That’s right, you’ve never been out of the area of the city. It is a plant that grows in deserts. It is designed to suck up water and store it inside since there is little rainfall in that climate. I have researched many different plants and made adjustments to their makeup. Specifically, I sped up the absorption process for the cactus,” he replied. He walked over to the cacti and forced them back into the seeds. Once they were returned to their seed form, he scooped them into a pile. “I need you to use your power and crush these seeds under intense pressure. If we don’t destroy them, Melt will eventually make his way back out of them.”