“That hurts,” she protested. “Everything hurts.”
“I know,” Emanuel replied. “I’m so sorry.”
“What are you doing?” she asked. Her eyes moved across the dark room, stopping on Holly and the kids. “Where did the lieutenant go? And what are they all doing in here?”
The answer came in the form of a long screech.
Sophie’s eyes widened and shot up to lock with Emanuel’s. “They’ve found us?”
He nodded.
“Please tell me this is a dream.”
He shook his head. “They’re coming.”
* * *
Corporal Bouma checked the magazine before jamming it home into his pulse rifle. Fifteen rounds. That was it. And without the electromagnetic pulse grenades he only had enough ammo to piss off the shielded aliens. They would need to use the RVAMP, even if it fried some of the Biosphere’s hardware. They had no choice.
“Shit,” he said. “Jeff, Kiel, what’s your ammo status?”
“Not good,” Kiel replied.
“Me either,” Jeff said.
Bouma looked over their shoulders, through the glass window of the CIC. The ghostly blue glow filled the adjacent hallway, spilling into the room.
Kiel and Jeff saw it at the same time. They shouldered their weapons.
Bouma glanced at the RVAMP lying on the middle work desk. “You know how to work this thing, Kiel?”
The smaller marine limped away from the window and nodded. “Yeah. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I don’t think we have any other choice.”
“Here they come!” Jeff shouted, his voice shaky. The boy took several steps back to join the marines.
Bouma reached for the RVAMP, spinning it on its side. Shrugging his rifle strap onto his shoulder, he leaned over and examined the device.
“You just push the green button,” Kiel said.
“It’s going to severely fuck up the hardware in this place,” Bouma replied. “But it’s either that or we all die.” He exchanged looks with Kiel and then Jeff.
Scratch, scrape, scratch, scrape.
Weeks ago he would have been afraid, but now fear had evolved into something else—anger. He hated the aliens more than any enemy he’d ever faced, and he was not going to let them get to Holly or the kids.
Bouma grabbed the device and cradled it against his chest, watching one of the Spiders emerge in the hallway beyond. Like an apparition, it seemed to hover in a blue mist. His heart fluttered as the Spider tilted its head in his direction.
Not daring to move, Bouma waited, the cold of the RVAMP’s steel leaking through his shirt. In the blink of an eye, the creature’s mandibles parted and unleashed an enraged cry. Then, the alien began barreling down the passage toward him.
The marine knew what came next. Screeching, scratching, and then . . .
Death.
He reached for the green button. He would wait until the Spiders were all inside. Then he was going to fry them. Fry them all.
* * *
Emanuel knew they were running out of time. He had to tell Sophie before Bouma used the RVAMP. But how did you tell someone they only had minutes, seconds, to live? He studied her face. He didn’t even know where to begin.
“How did they find us?” Sophie asked, trembling in her bed.
“I don’t know,” Emanuel replied. He lowered his voice so the children wouldn’t hear him. “You’re infected. With the alien nanobots. The same kind that Smith has in her system.”
Sophie didn’t react exactly as Emanuel thought she would. She was still.
He waved his hand in front of her eyes.
She took a deep breath and said, “We don’t have much time, do we?”
He cringed at the statement. Not just because she was right, but because she was brilliant and knew exactly what the implications of infection meant, especially now. He replied simply, choking on the word so it came out in a slur. “No.”
She reached for her head. “I feel a tingling. All through my body. And my head . . .” She paused to claw at some invisible force inside her skull. “This migraine. It’s pulsating. I feel like my head’s going to explode. There’s this humming sound, too. It won’t . . .”
Emanuel reached for her hand, cupping it in his own. “Let’s get this thing off you,” he said. Together they removed the MindTec.
Sophie shook again, curling up into a fetal position.
Without the RVM to stop them, the nanobots were connecting to the invisible surge. He wasn’t sure how long she had before they would take over her body.
A sudden spasm took hold of Sophie and she flopped onto the bed.
“Holly!” Emanuel yelled. “Come help me hold her.” He leaned over and held Sophie’s shoulders down as Holly reached for her feet.
“Oh my god, what’s happening?”
The distant crack of automatic gunfire erupted from the open doorway. The children ducked to the ground, wailing in fear. Emanuel glanced at them and saw Alexia’s interface, remembering he still hadn’t brought her back online.
Everything was happening so fast. He had lost control.
Another volley of gunshots rang out, followed by the children’s screams. Holly whispered something to Sophie that Emanuel couldn’t make out from the foot of the bed.
Sophie struggled under his grip and then stiffened, her eyes staring up at him. “Fire,” she choked, “my body is on fire.”
“Hold on,” Emanuel said, blinking away a tear. He rushed over to the monitors and punched in several commands. He had no idea how to save her, but if anyone could help, it was Alexia.
The computer did not respond to his first attempt. With precision he keyed in a different passcode and the right monitor flickered to life in safe mode.
He’d spent the first night of their mission reading about catastrophic power failures on the NTC-issued tablet, thinking he would never use any of it. Now he was glad he had.
As he punched in several more commands, the AI console chirped to life. Alexia’s image jumped out of its center.
“God, I’m glad to see you,” Emanuel said, exhaling a deep breath.
“Likewise,” she replied. “I’ll take it from here.” Her image disappeared and Emanuel heard the air circulation system click on above them. A second later the AI reemerged.
“We have contacts,” she said quickly, deviating from her normally calm demeanor.
“I know,” Emanuel replied. “Bouma, Kiel, and Jeff have gone to retrieve the RVAMP in the command center.”
“They can’t use that in the Biosphere,” Alexia snapped, her voice growing more frustrated. “It could destroy my hardware. And will also likely kill Doctor Winston.”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he ran to the window that looked out into the hallway. The pale blue light was still weak. Bouma and the others were keeping the Organics at bay. Which meant he still had several minutes.
“Alexia, you’re going to have to shut down. It’s the only way. Power down all the systems.”
“Everything?”
“Everything!” Emanuel replied. He looked over at Sophie. She was curled up again, rocking back and forth as Holly hugged her.
He winced. There was simply no other way. They had to use the RVAMP if they wanted to live. He just hoped her body was strong enough to survive the pulse.
He moved back to her bedside.
“Emanuel,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. For everything.”
“No, no, no,” he replied. “There isn’t anything to be sorry about. You’ve led this team through the unthinkable, and you will survive this, too.” He wanted to believe his own words. Sophie had already survived so much, but this was different. He kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes as if she was savoring the moment.
“I have to go to the CIC and help
the others,” he whispered.
“I love you, Emanuel Rodriguez,” she said. The lights flickered off.
“Powering down,” Alexia said.
More gunfire boomed through the Biosphere.
The children wailed louder.
“I love you—” Emanuel started to say, but as he turned back to Sophie she was seizing, her eyes rolled up inside her head, her mouth agape.
“Shit,” he cried. “Hold her, Holly.”
“I am!”
Together they held her down on the bed until her body went limp. The surge was taking over her system faster than he ever imagined. Emanuel knew they were out of time. He rushed out of the room and darted down the hallway, rounding the corner for the CIC. There, in the center of the passage, was a single Sentinel. He froze when it saw him, his shoes sliding across the smooth ground with a rubbery squeak.
The creature’s reptilian eyes blinked, focusing on him. Emanuel took a step back until he was up against the wall. His heart galloped. He had to find a way around the beast.
But where could he go? The hallway led only two ways. Back to the medical ward or toward the other Biomes.
Something flashed behind the creature. A lump formed in his throat. Were there more of them?
A crack from a high-powered rifle brought Emanuel to the ground. Cupping his ears as he lay on the floor, he watched Jeff running at the alien, screaming as he fired his rifle.
The creature let out a deep screech and twisted to face the boy. Its tail curled, coiling and shaking as it prepared to lash Jeff.
“No!” Emanuel yelled, but it was too late. The alien snapped its spiked tail through the air.
Jeff reacted quickly, darting to his right. The tail whistled through the air, slashing his arm and sending his rifle flying.
By the time the weapon hit the ground Emanuel was running. He slipped past the beast and grabbed Jeff, pulling him down the hallway and back into the open door of the CIC where Bouma and Kiel were firing their pulse rifles through the shattered window.
The corporal glanced over at them, his eyes falling on Jeff’s injury.
“We have to use the RVAMP!” Emanuel shouted.
“We have to wait until they’re all in range!” Bouma yelled between shots.
“If we wait any longer we’re all going to die!” Emanuel snapped.
Two Spiders crashed into the wall. Shards of glass rained down from the window’s edges. They recovered quickly, using their long legs to hoist their bodies back into the air. The closest creature smashed into the glass doorway and climbed halfway through, claws thrashing the air with a whoosh inside the CIC.
Bouma ducked under one of the talons and then fired off a quick succession of shots. The blue shield absorbed the rounds, pulsating. Mandibles snapped in protest.
Emanuel crawled toward the RVAMP resting behind Bouma’s boots as shells rained down around him.
Grabbing it, he spun the device to face him. The green button blinked—a full charge, plenty of juice to fry every single one of the bastards. His finger moved toward the control, but he hesitated. He could save the entire team by pushing the small switch. Kill every single Organic in the Biosphere, but maybe also kill Sophie.
He flinched as another pair of Spiders crashed into the wall. Bouma pushed the barrel of his rifle up against their shields and fired, sending the aliens spinning into the darkness.
“What are you waiting for?” Kiel shouted.
Emanuel glanced up just in time to see the humanoid face of the Sentinel peek through the destroyed door, and pushed the button.
CHAPTER 17
“EASY guys, careful with those tubes.” Ort tapped the headset to ensure it was working properly. A wave of static crackled in his ear. Flicking his mini mike to his lips he said, “How we doin’?”
“Right side’s loaded, sir,” the lead weapons officer responded.
The windshield of the Sea Serpent was so filthy Ort could hardly see the two maintenance officers working on securing a Redemption tube to the other wing. It gave him great satisfaction knowing that his weapon was finally being deployed in the field.
After checking the gauges one last time, Ort exited the gunship, jumping onto the metal floor with a thud. Two men were pushing a cart full of munitions, and one in red coveralls yelled out in surprise, “Hey! You don’t want us to drop this, do you?”
“Sorry,” Ort said.
The men grunted and continued on as Ort imagined one of the missiles hitting the ground and detonating. That would be the ultimate irony, wouldn’t it, he mused, after evading the Organics for so long, the great GOA destroyed by her own weapons.
Ort let the men pass and then hustled into the cargo bay. The space was teeming with activity and energy. Diego’s squad of twenty Special Forces soldiers prepped for battle. Their well-rehearsed preparatory ritual filled the large compartment with noise; magazines being driven home into weapons, helmets snapping into armored suits, and the animated chatter among the soldiers.
Only this chatter was different. There were no jokes or the subsequent laughter that followed. Everyone was nervous. Hell, he was even nervous and he wasn’t going on the mission.
This was it. Their last shot. Take down those towers and maybe, just maybe, they could save the Earth. Ort had his doubts. He wasn’t a natural pessimist, just logical. Since the invasion he’d accepted the fact that most everyone he ever knew was probably dead and that humanity was doomed. There were times when he wished he had died in the first phase of the invasion, too. But he kept those thoughts to himself. So did everyone else.
An awful crunching sound erupted over the central PA system. Everyone in the cargo bay put their tasks on hold and glanced up at the speakers overhead.
“Fellow crew members, this is your captain.” White noise followed as the PA system adjusted. The static couldn’t mask the reservation in Noble’s voice.
“Approximately three months ago, our world changed. Virtually everyone we ever knew was exterminated by a merciless and advanced alien species. Since the Organics landed, our mission was to monitor the Biospheres. My orders, our orders, were clear. But soon after watching the Biospheres go offline one by one, I decided we couldn’t drift safely and idly beneath the surface. It was then that our mission changed. It was then I gave the order to every man and woman on this sub to commit all our resources to the survival of the human race.”
The captain paused, letting the information sink in. Clearing his throat he continued, “Today I have grave news. The light representing the last Biosphere has gone offline.”
Ort looked at the floor.
“We don’t know what happened, but it must have been catastrophic. I ask you all to pray and keep the scientists and the team there in your thoughts,” Noble said. “And I also ask you to thank them.”
Another pause.
Ort rolled up a sleeve that had dropped over his dark skin.
“Before they went offline, the team sent us a message that has the potential to end this war. That single encrypted note gave us the coordinates to Organic poles constructed on top of the world’s seven highest summits. The scientists at Cheyenne Mountain believe these alien poles sustain the electromagnetic disturbance we are calling the Surge.”
The PA system crackled again. “We will launch our attack from Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, where we discovered a fleet of drones and jets. Each of these aircraft will be equipped with our newest weapon: Redemption.”
Ort felt the thrill of adrenaline. He crossed his thick arms, treasuring the excitement like a long-lost friend.
“We know now the Surge is not constant. The Organics depend on these seven poles to power everything from the Orbs and human farms to their own defenses and ships. The disturbance originates on Mars and hits the side of Earth facing the Red Planet in two-hour intervals. In theory, if we disrupt this
network during that short window, then the aliens will lose their defenses and succumb to the Earth’s atmosphere. The offensive will be planned around taking down all of the poles, but we will focus most of our firepower on just one. I believe this is our best shot at taking down their network and ending this war!” Noble shouted. There was confidence in his voice, but not everyone in the room was receptive.
Ort noticed the same two maintenance workers who had carried the munitions earlier shaking their heads with doubt. One of them whispered something that he couldn’t make out. He shot them an angry glare.
“The latest projections from Lolo show the Pacific Ocean has decreased in volume by approximately forty percent in the past two and a half months. The Atlantic has decreased by sixty percent. And there is absolutely no sign of freshwater. Anywhere,” he said. “The temperature continues to skyrocket. Our planet is turning into a desert. We have run out of time. And I will no longer hide beneath the waves and watch this happen. Everyone on this sub has lost loved ones. You have all made great sacrifices. And now it’s time to make one final sacrifice.”
Silence washed over the room. When the captain continued his voice had hardened.
“I’ve seen the horsemen of the apocalypse. We all have. They aren’t human. They are merciless, unyielding, and their numbers far surpass ours. But we have finally found their weakness. The surge poles are their Achilles’ heel. We hit them there, and they will fall. We will reclaim our planet.” Noble’s voice grew louder. “Operation Redemption, the mission to take back what’s ours, begins now.”
Cheers followed the captain’s statement like thunder after lightning. The entire cargo hold erupted into chaos. Diego and his team raised their rifles in the air and yelled. The eruption of cheers and shouts surprised Ort, but what surprised him even more was the fact he had joined in. Even the two skeptical maintenance workers were clapping.
Ort scrutinized the gunship towering above him. Its sleek metal armor reminded him of that of an ancient warrior. He instantly thought back to the Battle of Thermopylae, in which a Greek army of several thousand men had defended a road against the Persian army that outnumbered them more than twenty to one. They had fought valiantly, but most of the Greeks lost their lives.
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