by Simone Pond
“We located some fuel,” she says.
“So, can we get the hell out of Vegas now?”
“We need to get it first. Stragglers are keeping a close watch on it, so we’re gonna need everyone’s help. We’re leaving in about ten minutes.”
“Good.” I get out of bed and start tying up my boots. I’ve been cooped up in this room too long and I’m ready to get out and into some action.
She hands me a military jacket of some sort. “I heard what happened earlier.”
“Yeah, stupid, I know.”
“You gotta be more careful.”
“I dumped the juice. Won’t happen again.”
“I mean in general. You need to stay focused. It’s messed up out there. Really crazy. Like bloodbath crazy.”
“And we’re walking right into it, huh?” I ask, buttoning up the jacket.
“We need the fuel, otherwise we’re walking to Bakersfield.” She pauses and bites her thumbnail. “So, I saw the book of matches.”
“Yeah?”
“The poem.”
“Yeah.”
She closes her eyes and recites a line, “the frost will not thaw without them.” She smiles. “You’re a beautiful writer. What’s it mean?”
“What does it mean to you?”
“I think you’re saying…”
Zach enters the room wearing head-to-toe combat gear. I hate him for interrupting the moment.
“You ready?” He plops down on the bed.
“As I’ll ever be. So are you going to share the plan, or do we get to figure it out in retrospect?” I ask, trying not to sound too sarcastic.
“The four of us are heading down the strip with Sam and Dan to nab the fuel and get the hell outta Dodge. These guys are trained special forces. Cream of the crop.”
“Good to hear since we’re walking into the gates of hell to get this fuel.”
“We don’t have a choice. These lunatics are hoarding gallons of it at the Excalibur. Good thing is it’s all in one place; bad thing is they’ve got barricades surrounding the casino floor. Lots of armed men standing guard,” explains Zach.
“Sarah’s okay to go?” I ask.
“She doesn’t have a choice. We need her,” says Zach.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her,” says Dru.
The door swings open and two hard-bodied men stride into the room. This must been the infamous Sam and Dan—the weapons. I’ve been working out, but next to these guys I’m a wimp.
“Morray, this is Sam and Dan.”
Sam could be a linebacker. His enormous muscles bulge from under his tight t-shirt and a slight layer of perspiration glistens from his chocolate brown skin. He tosses me a semi-automatic rifle. I catch it by the tip of the barrel and he chuckles to his buddy, Dan, who’s even taller and wider. Dan’s the pastiest shade of white I’ve ever seen. He looks like he smeared chalk on his face.
I look at the weapon in my hands—I’ve never held an actual gun. “How does it work?” I ask, immediately regretting it.
Dan, stares at me with his chalky expression. “You just point and click.” He’s very calm.
“You’ll be solid, Morray. You’ve had plenty of training,” says Zach.
“Yeah, in the holodome.”
“It’s the same principle.” He pats my back and heads toward the door. “Okay, people, let’s go. Sam’s got the front. Dan will hold the rear. Be on the lookout for any street urchin bogies.”
Sam nudges my shoulder. “Follow my lead, you’ll be a-okay.”
I like Sam.
*
The six of us walk through the back alley behind Circus Circus. The air is dry and the smell of burning chemicals is potent from the fires still blazing in the surrounding areas. A helicopter hovers over the MGM—it must be the film crew capturing footage for America 2.0. I wonder if the stragglers refrain from shooting down any of the copters because they relish the idea of being on TV, regardless of the circumstances.
We cross an opening from one building to the next, and a hail of bullets comes out from behind an abandoned delivery truck. The six of us disperse and duck behind whatever we can find. Zach and I crouch behind a dumpster. He’s firing rounds at the truck. I press up against the building; I have no interest in shooting at anyone. I peek through a crack behind the dumpster toward the truck and I see Sam remove his backpack and scale a few dumpsters, making his way to the shooter. His skin is so dark it’s hard to see him in the shadows. He leaps over to the truck, climbs on the roof and fires his machine gun down into it. Bullets ricochet and bounce everywhere. Someone from inside is firing up at him. He jumps down on the hood, shoots out the windshield and rolls into the truck.
Across the alley, Dru’s aiming her machine gun, but holding fire. Like me, Sarah’s pressed against the bricks and covering her ears. Dru darts over to the dumpster next to the truck and crouches low. She’s firing at some action on the other side of the truck. I’m pissed because she left Sarah unprotected. I want to go over to her, but if I run over, there’s a good chance I’ll get shot in the crossfire. Screw it. She’s helped me numerous times. I start to creep away from the wall to get over to her, but Zach grabs my collar.
“You stay here, Morray. We need you alive.”
Dan rolls out into the alley and crawls under the truck. I can’t see what’s he’s doing. Dru stays low, holding fire. Dan shoots three precise shots into the alley behind the truck. We wait for return fire, but it’s quiet. The prolonged silence is enough for him to come out from under the truck and check the area. Whoever was shooting is either dead, or they retreated.
I run over to Sarah. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She presses closer against the wall, rattled and disoriented.
“All clear,” Dan calls out.
Sam steps out of the truck, unscathed. He gives the thumbs up and the six of us continue walking in silence through the back alleyways. We steer clear of the main drag and casinos to avoid any straggler sightings. Sam leads us in through a back door of a mini-mart that’s been ransacked—the shelves gutted. Even the postcard rack is barren; people grabbed everything they could. Not sure why they pilfered old postcards of Vegas. I spot one of those miniature souvenir spoons on the floor. I have an urge to slip it into my pocket, but Zach nudges me along. We move through some more shops and alleys until we’re across the street from the Excalibur.
“We’re going in through there,” says Zach, pointing toward the monorail system at least sixty feet above.
“How?” I ask.
“Climbing.” Dan takes a rope dart out of his backpack and fires toward the rail. He tugs the rope to make sure it’s secure and starts climbing up.
I’m worried about Sarah; she’s still not herself. “You feel okay?” I ask.
She grabs the rope and inches her way up. Dru follows and I’m next. We wait inside the tunnel for Zach and Sam. Dru hangs back a few hundred feet with Sarah, who’s puking on the tracks. I want to help out, but it seems like my presence just upsets Sarah more.
“Everything okay over there?” I ask.
“We’re good, William,” says Dru.
Dan takes a bunch of handguns out of his backpack; all 9mm Glocks. He checks the clips and loads bullets into the extra ones.
“Think we’ve got enough ammo?” I try to make small talk, but all I get out of Dan is an expressionless stare.
Zach and Sam reach the top, and Sam removes an arsenal from his backpack: a few short-barrel machine guns, some grenades, and a bundle of dynamite. The only thing missing is a rocket launcher. All of this is real—it’s not some program that ends in the holodome if something goes wrong. I won’t be shooting at virtual images but actual people. I try not to think about the people I’ve already killed. My chest tightens up and within seconds, I’m drenched. I can’t have a panic attack. Not now. I sit on the rails and get my breathing under control, taking a few sips from my canteen.
“You’ll get used to it, kid,” says Sam, loc
king a clip into his 9mm.
“I’m cool,” I mumble.
Zach goes over what’s about to happen. “It’s gonna get fugazi down there. So stick with the plan: The four of us distract the stragglers, while Sam and Dan nab some fuel. Once they have enough, we gotta bolt cuz they’re gonna ignite the rest of the fuel supply—we’re takin’ down those bastards and the hotel.”
I look at my swollen finger and think about something Dru said about the chip. I have a quick flash of inspiration. “What if we kill two birds with one stone?”
“What are you thinking?” asks Zach.
“We could unblock my frequencies and see if Denver picks up my signal. When they get in close enough, we blast the hotel and take them out too.”
“Not bad, Morray. Not bad at all. If they take the bait and send in a fast mover, the blast would definitely take ‘em out.”
“Doesn’t hurt to try,” I say. “Sarah, do you think you can pull it off?”
“Sure. I just need to make sure you stay close enough to me.”
“Okay, team. Sounds like we’re good to go. Grab your weapons. Let’s do this.” Zach heads down the tunnel.
Dru comes over to me, guns tucked into her waistband and a machine gun around her shoulder. She looks tougher than nails. “You sure about this?” she asks.
“Like you said, we can use their technology to our advantage.” I grab the machine gun and wrap it over my shoulder and take the last two Glocks, handing one to Sarah. In comparison to Dru, Sarah looks too frail and weak to carry out this operation. She has a mouth on her, but I fear she’s not strong enough to hold up down there. She tucks her digi-pad into a small bag around her waist. “If anything happens to you or that thing, I’m dead,” I tell her.
“Just stay close to me.”
“Both of you be careful down there. We need you,” says Dru, looking at me.
Sarah nods and the three of us walk down the dark tunnel in silence.
Zach continues with his instructions. “Sam and Dan are taking the elevator shaft down. The rest of us are using the stairs. Dru and Sarah will walk straight into the lobby, playing dumb. Morray and I will be trailing.”
“You’re sending in the girls first?” I ask.
“Nothing lures in scum like pretty ladies.”
“That’s dangerous.” I look at Dru and feel an overwhelming desire to grab her and run in the opposite direction.
“The men will be distracted and that’s when we go in.” Zach cocks his rifle. “We do this in three, two, one…”
Sam and Dan jump into the open elevator shaft and disappear. Dru and Sarah run down the stairs to the lobby, and Zach motions for me to follow as they head toward the barricaded entrance. We duck behind some pillars, peering out and waiting for their signal. A razor-sharp pain rips through the back of my head, and my ears fill with a low ringing that turns into a shrill screeching that deafens me. Sarah has unblocked my frequencies and the chip is taking over. Zach’s lips move, but I can’t hear him. An electric shock darts across my forehead and I drop to the floor and curl into a ball, trying to hold back the shooting pain.
“I’m goin’ in!” Zach yells into my ear.
My vision is watery and blurry. The floor expands and collapses under me and I fall into a pool of darkness. The screeching in my head reaches a peak and drops off to a low hum and random beeps. Light beams flash in front of me like I’m shooting through space. Then everything stops and I’m enveloped in blackness. I know I’m on the lobby floor of the Excalibur, but my mind is inside a black hole. Words appear like an incoming email.
“William, it’s John Dickson. I don’t have time to explain, but I want to help you.”
“You’re in my head? How are you in my head?”
“No time to explain. I want to help you. You need to get out of Vegas and go to Santa Barbara. There are people on the plantation near Sheffield Reservoir. Coordinates are 342643N, 1194125W. You need to help them. More details to come.”
“How do I know this isn’t a trap? And that this is even Dickson?”
“You don’t.”
“Why are you contacting me?”
“I want out. Helping you helps me. More to come…”
I’m back in the hotel lobby behind the pillar and gunshots echo all around me. I look toward the casino entrance and see dead bodies strewn across the red carpet. Zach’s behind a row of slot machines, firing toward the center of the room, and Dru’s in the row next to him, reloading. Where’s Sarah? I have to keep her alive. I run out from behind the column, firing my gun into the air. I slide across the floor and get closer to the entrance. Dan and Sam are already inside the casino, picking off the stragglers who are guarding the fuel supply. There’s a loud blast from the back of the casino. Pieces of tables and machinery splinter through the air. If anyone ignites the fuel supply, we’re all dead. Overhead, miniature camera drones zoom in, capturing footage. I aim and shoot one of them down. Stupid reality TV show. I’m about to take down another one when I spot Sarah crouched in a corner. One of the stragglers is heading straight toward her. He’ll shoot her down—or worse—if I don’t get him first. I aim my handgun in his direction and fire, missing. He looks right at me. He’s not a man, he’s a boy—younger than me. I don’t want to kill him, but he’s shooting at me and heading toward Sarah. I don’t have a choice. I’m sorry, kid. I fire my gun again and he drops to the ground.
I run over to Sarah. “You okay?”
“We have to move—they’ll be here any second,” she yells. “We have to get below.”
In the distance, we can hear the vibration of an aircraft coming in. We run out of the casino and toward the stairwell to the maintenance area below. I click on my flashlight.
“What about the fuel?” I ask.
“Sam and Dan already got it. We need to get out of here. Zach’s gonna ignite the fuel when the craft is low enough to the casino.”
“What about Dru?”
“Zach’s got her covered.”
“You’re blocking my frequency, right?”
“You’re good. Come on, we have to get out.”
Gunshots come from behind—stragglers are trailing us. My flashlight crashes to the ground. We can’t see a thing. Bullets are bouncing off the machinery. I grab Sarah and we crouch behind a generator.
“We have to do something,” I yell.
“I can’t see anything.”
“Set up your flashlight and stand over there with your machine gun ready. I’ll draw them over. Don’t turn it on until they’re close.”
She sets up a high-power flashlight on a tripod and ducks behind a generator. I crawl about a hundred yards away. I stand behind another generator and start clanking on some metal pipes to draw attention to our location. The group makes their way down the aisle toward us when she turns on her flashlight, blinding them.
I can see the stragglers coming our way, covering their eyes. A few open fire toward the direction of the light. I fire, spraying bullets in their direction. Two drop to the ground. The other three fall out of view and take cover. I run down the aisle and toward the sound of shells clinking to the floor and take out another straggler. Bullets whiz by my head. I fire my machine gun until every last bullet is used. I dive down and crouch behind a generator, reaching for my 9mm. The light gets hit and we’re in the dark again.
“Sarah!” I call out.
She doesn’t answer. I run back to where she was hiding and slip on the broken glass. I lose my balance and hit the ground, dropping my gun. Footsteps head toward me. A shadow approaches and I hear the clip lock into place. I scoot backwards hoping to avoid the bullet. Gunfire deafens me and the figure drops right next to my feet.
“Get up.” Sarah pulls me up by my jacket.
We leave through the back door and run into the alley. I follow as she runs ahead and opens another door to the adjacent building. She lights up a glow stick and we cut through another maintenance room. I’ve lost track of which hotel we’re in. We exit th
e building just as a massive explosion pummels through the air. The ground shakes and huge clouds of white dust billow down the Strip. We sit down on the curb and Sarah leans against me. We hold each other and watch the Excalibur crumble to the ground, filling the air with cement particles and soot.
“Now what?” I ask.
“We wait,” she says.
I cough. “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine.” She doesn’t look fine; she looks pale and ashy.
I rest my head between my knees, trying to catch my breath. “This is crazy.”
“We knew what we were getting into,” she says.
“I never thought it through—you know, the killing part. I’m no better than my father.”
“It’s different, William,” she says, halfheartedly.
“How is it different?”
“We’re fighting to stop the elites from doing more damage. It’s for good.”
“That’s what they always say.”
I decide to hold off on telling her what happened in the lobby—about Dickson contacting me. There’s already too much going on.
Chapter 15
An hour passes and I’m antsy, wondering if we’ve been left behind to live the rest of our lives in Vegas. Zach’s not the easiest guy to trust. He tends to call audibles at the last minute and I’m constantly playing catch up. The fire and ash that used to be the Excalibur fills the air, making it tough to breathe. I want to get out of this filthy town. Sarah sees something in the distance and stands up. I thought seeing the Excalibur crashing to the ground was surreal, until I see the plane rolling down the main strip and Sarah using her two fingers to whistle for it like she’s hailing a taxi. The plane slows down and Dan holds out his arm for Sarah while I jog alongside until she’s safely inside. The only good thing about Vegas was picking up Sam and Dan.
I’m relieved to see Dru alive. She hugs both Sarah and me, grateful we made it out. I sit down in the back by myself so I can absorb what happened at the casino when Dickson contacted me. It’s clear the tracking range on this chip is vast, but communicating with me inside my head is taking it to the next level. Dickson said to go to Santa Barbara and something about a plantation. He said he wants to help us, but why? I don’t know who to talk to. Dru’s resting and Sam and Dan are in the middle of reloading a pile of empty magazines and re-organizing their gear. Sarah will have to help me figure this out.