Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover

by Gerrit Overeem

  The slam of something substantial hitting the ground drew both their attention to the mound above. Ryan’s mouth dropped at the sight of Lars standing on top of the mound in the mech unit he had seen in the OTKE docking bay after Kat’s ship landed.

  Lars sent a burst of electrical energy from the mech arm at the Flesh Golem, and both the monster and Ryan screamed. The Flesh Golem flailed, causing it to lose its balance in the twisting vine and fall backward into the blood fungus.

  The Flesh Golem let go of Ryan as it stuck both arms out to break its fall. Ryan was now kneeling on top of the creature, whose blood spilled into the fungus field, causing the fungus hands to reach toward them. Panicking, Ryan quickly stood up and jumped off the beast.

  The Flesh Golem sat up to grab him, but Lars unloaded on the creature with the Gatling gun attached to the other mech arm. The hot Gatling gun shells rained down on Ryan, who was curled up at the base of the mound.

  Explosive rounds tore into the Flesh Golem. Blood splattered everywhere, and the ground shook. Giant tentacles exploded from the field of mushrooms and lashed themselves around the squirming monster. It tried to fight back with its one good arm, but the blood fungus tentacles pulled the Flesh Golem under, and it was gone.

  “Thanks,” Ryan said through deep breaths.

  “You are welcome, Mr. Hunt. Sorry for the delay.”

  “The mech suit fits you. I’ll be giving you an A-plus in my inspection report.”

  Lars perked up. “Thank you, sir. Now, if you will follow me, I will lead you to the town.”

  

  Thanks to an escort from giant spider AIs, Kat and her group of townspeople made it to the town’s entrance. A few of the remaining townspeople were patrolling with what arms they could muster, and Gavesha, the psychic adept, was there to greet her.

  “Welcome back,” said Gavesha, giving a bow with both hands together like you would do in prayer.

  Rescued townspeople rushed past them to meet with family members. Some cried from happiness and others from the loss of loved ones.

  Kat looked down. She was covered in filth, grime, and dried blood. “Yeah, we’re lucky to be back. Anyone else make it here yet?”

  “No, but I sense there are more coming soon.”

  Kat nodded and stared at the ground before looking at Gavesha. “I, ah, need to tell you something. It’s about Jessup.”

  “I already know. You projected it when you first saw me.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss. I didn’t know him, but he must have cared enough to come searching for you.”

  Gavesha stared blankly at Kat. “In my race, death is never really an end if there is someone to remember you. We can relive memories, and I have many cherished ones with him. I will morn him when the time is right. Now, we—”

  Kat narrowed her eyes as Gavesha stopped talking. Gavesha’s face crinkled from exertion and she spun around. “Danger approaches from the remains of the Crystal City.”

  “You have to be kidding me,” said Kat. “Everyone, get inside! Those who can fight, with me. Something is coming across the crop fields.”

  People panicked and ran for cover. Kat took off running with some men and women to the other side of the town. She had no weapons and was exhausted from using her abilities, and the people with her had makeshift rifles scrapped from pieces of the past war.

  It didn’t take them long to get to an area that overlooked the crop fields. Two old Woland hover transports stopped at the edge of the fields, and twenty-

  one Woland disembarked and started moving toward the town.

  Kat jumped from a gunshot next to her.

  “Don’t bother. You weren’t even close, and that weapon is not going to do anything to them from this range,” said Kat to the guy standing next to her.

  The man who stood beside her was shaking. “What do we do?”

  “I…I don’t know.”

  High-velocity needles stuck into the metal walls beneath them. Kat shot a blast of energy at one of the Woland, knocking it off its feet, but it shook off the energy hit with minor burns, got back up, and kept going.

  “Damn, I’m too drained, and they’re setting up a las-cannon.”

  The sound of many clicking sounds echoed from behind them. Kat spun around to see the two spider AIs running forward. They sprung up and over them and the wall. The Woland immediately opened fire and only a few of the high-velocity needles made it through the AIs energy shields, causing minor damage.

  A red light from one of the AIs illuminated the Woland and scanned them.

  “What are those wretched creatures doing?” asked a person nearby.

  “Saving you and your dumbass people,” replied Kat.

  The AIs red beam vanished, and the tops of the two AIs opened. Small black balls the size of basketballs shot out of the openings, ten in total. The balls embedded halfway into the muddy crop fields in front of the Woland. One of the attackers walked over to a ball and kicked it with its foot. It only took a second; eight legs sprung from the balls while two small lasers sprung from the top. The small spider AIs leapt on to the nearest Woland and dug their pointed legs into whatever body part it hit.

  The Woland started screaming and trying to remove the AIs, but the small lasers began to slice the Woland into pieces. Seeing their fellow soldiers cut down, some tried to make it back to the transport, but las-blasts from the much larger spider AIs destroyed the transports.

  Kat watched on, and it was apparent the larger AIs could have ended this battle quickly, but she got the sense they were enjoying killing the Woland.

  The last Woland fell from a blast that rattled from below them. Kat stood up, hung over the wall to see Lars in a mech suit, smoke coming from a Gatling gun arm, and Ryan standing on the back of Lars.

  Ryan looked up and smiled.

  “What the hell are you doing?” yelled Kat.

  “Saving the day!”

  The large spider AIs immediately turned their red center eye to look at Lars and Ryan, roll the eye, and walk away with the little ones in line behind them.

  “Never thought I would get an eye roll from a giant walking metal spider,” said Ryan.

  Before Lars could answer, the sound of giant engines igniting echoed in the distance.

  Ryan looked up at Kat to say something, but she was pointing toward the Crystal City. He spun around to see two large ships hovering over the remains of the city. The ships hovered there for a few seconds and then blasted off into space.

  Ryan and Kat’s eyes met. They didn’t need to say anything; they both knew what the other was thinking. Uphir had escaped.

  Chapter 27

  New Rules and Rebirth

  Lars and the spider AIs headed back to the OTKE base while he and Kat assessed the situation. Ryan was exhausted and had no interest in walking back to the base. Since tech had started working again, he instructed Lars to bring a hover-skiff to get them.

  Ryan and Kat leaned against a building, watching what remained of the town’s inhabitants enter the meeting hall. There were not many of them left. Maybe a hundred and fifty in total—a mix of people with crystals on their arms and those without.

  Gavesha bowed to Ryan and Kat as she walked in with the town’s Leader Eldred, who was otherwise alone. His advisers had all perished. Ryan assumed that most of the deceased townspeople were used to bring the Nilorian scientists back. If he had to guess, Uphir restored a few hundred of them, using bodies he had taken over the decades. The rest were killed in his experiments or during the escape. The only positive thing was that the cloud would never bother the planet again, and the tech that Uphir used was destroyed.

  The squeaking of a wheel brought Ryan and Kat out of their trances, and they turned to see Kren wheeling himself over.

  “Thank you,” said Kren.

  “We did what we could,” said Ryan.
“Thank you for the information. It turns out Uphir is a person.”

  “And a butcherer, who needs to be dealt with,” said Kat.

  “You want some help wheeling over to the meeting?” asked Ryan.

  “Sure, a little help is always good.”

  Ryan got behind the makeshift wheelchair and pushed Kren toward the meeting hall, with Kat walking beside him.

  “Dr. Kat, we still good for that thing?” asked Kren.

  “How’s tomorrow?”

  Kren smiled. “Looks like I am going to follow a vision into the swamp.”

  “We’ll send Lars to get you,” Ryan said with a wink.

  The three of them entered the meeting hall. Kren thanked them and pushed himself to an area close to the front. The murmurs started low and increased as Ryan and Kat moved forward. The words ‘priest’ and ‘priestess’ were heard in the whispers of the townspeople. Some nodded while others got down on their knees as they passed.

  “Will you people stop? We’re not people to be worshiped,” said Ryan.

  “Please come forward,” said Eldred.

  Ryan and Kat walked forward to stand in the same spots they did a few days ago and, like before, covered in filth.

  Eldred sat in the center chair, Gavesha on his right. Syl was to his left and never looked up from her trance.

  Eldred stood and leaned on the table in front of him. “A lot has transpired in the time since you came here. I—”

  “OK, let’s cut to the chase. We are both tired, dirty, and stink,” said Ryan.

  Eldred jumped back in his seat. He was not used to being talked to in this manner. His face turned red, and his fist clenched.

  Gavesha put her hand on Eldred’s fist. “Let him speak,” she said in a calming tone.

  Eldred’s hands relaxed. “Fine. I will let the priest—”

  “Let’s stop there. I’m no priest. Far from it,” said Ryan.

  “Do you deny that you wield blue fire? It was witnessed by many. The weapons you wielded in battle fired the holy blue flame, and the dark creatures you touched were burned to ash in the blue cleansing fire.”

  “Ah…yeah…that’s true, but it just sort of happened and means nothing.”

  The murmurs started up again, and Eldred raised his hands to quieten the room.

  “Before you go back to the priest nonsense, there are a few things we need to clear up,” said Ryan.

  “Anything,” said Eldred. “We are in your debt, as well as to the priestess with you.”

  Kat looked over to Ryan and gave him a slight nod.

  “Well, first off, this nonsense that people with crystals on their skin are somehow better than the non-crystal people needs to stop. In the end, it cost a lot of lives, made one of your beloved townspeople seek revenge, and let an evil man get away with madness.”

  Eldred looked over at Syl, who still had not looked up, and he nodded. “It will be done.”

  “Second—”

  “Second,” said Kat, taking a step forward. “I will provide medical treatment to anyone that wants it, and AIs are not evil.”

  “They are abominations of the flesh,” said someone from the gallery of people. It was followed by a murmur of agreements.

  Ryan took a step forward. “Well, get the hell used to it. My best friend is an AI, and if it weren’t for the spider AIs, you would all be dead. But if you want to keep with your ways, then go for it, but don’t ever expect us to help you again.”

  Eldred leaned back in his chair and squinted his eyes. He glared at Ryan and Kat. “We will…try.”

  “It is a start,” said Gavesha.

  “Anything else?” Eldred asked with disdain in his voice.

  “Yeah, if you’re going to honor anyone, the four soldiers that were sleeping in those pods in your chapel should be the ones you worship. They sacrificed everything to rescue your people.”

  “We will make sure to honor their sacrifice.”

  Ryan nodded, tapped Kat on the shoulder, and said, “Let’s go.”

  They left the meeting hall. The clouds had cleared and blue skies peeked through. It was the first time they had seen blue skies since landing on this planet. Their quiet moment was interrupted when Gavesha exited the building.

  “I believe you made your point. They are now debating amongst themselves on where they go from here.”

  “What will you do now?” asked Kat.

  “It was my history that brought me to this place. A key to my people’s ancestry may still lie in the remains of the Crystal City. I plan on living here for a time and explore what is left of it. Perhaps I may find some answers. If not, I will document the ancient battle that took place here centuries ago and what has occurred recently.”

  “Stay safe, and I hope you find the answers you seek,” said Ryan.

  Gavesha put her hands together, bowed, and walked away.

  “Do you think any might have survived?” asked Ryan.

  “Even if they did, they would succumb to their wounds. There was nothing we could have done for them,” said Kat.

  The sound of a vehicle made them turn to see Lars, no longer in his mech suit; he was controlling a multi-person hover-skiff.

  “Our ride is here,” said Kat, heading to the skiff.

  Ryan looked toward the remains of the Crystal City. His thoughts lingered on the four people who gave their lives to help him. He bowed his head in a quick prayer and boarded the skiff back to the OTKE backup base.

  

  The explosion leveled what remained of the service bay and the Crystal City. Splicer had been crushed under the falling walls and instantly killed, but Saasha wasn’t so lucky to be granted a quick death. The walls had fallen at odd angles over her, which kept the ceiling from falling on her. Saasha’s original injuries were causing her to slowly spill blood, and she could feel the wetness around her, but her body was refusing to give in.

  Saasha laid in the darkness, a tear running down her cheek every few seconds. She had no idea how long she was drifting in and out of consciousness, but her breathing was becoming shallow as her body struggled to stay alive.

  “Please let this end,” she thought. “The pain…”

  She dreamed of her past, and lying in the darkness alone was the most terrifying thing that could happen to her. She would die alone. No one to hold her hand like she did for so many dying men and women on the fields of countless battles. She smiled as her breathing got harder, and then her thoughts stopped.

  

  Anatia, the guardian angel of children’s souls, appeared in what remained of a ruined tunnel in the Crystal City. She had witnessed plenty of destroyed cities over the centuries and it always made her sad. The countless souls of children she would shepherd into another life became too many to keep count of.

  Sensing her destination was close, Anatia began walking through the debris as if it was not there, only to stop at the sound of a hiss. Enhancing her aura, Anatia illuminated the area. A Xeno-Shadow pinned under debris tried to turn its head away from the light and swung a clawed hand out to hit her.

  Anatia looked at the vile creature. Not a soul that could be saved. A blue flaming sword appeared in her hand and she stabbed into the creature’s torso. It roared in pain before it was engulfed in blue fire and turned to ash.

  The sword vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She continued down the hallway, walking through any obstruction in her way, and then she found who she was looking for. Saasha lay there in a pool of blood, covered in dust and pieces of crystal. A smoky apparition of Saasha hovered in the air above her body.

  Anatia moved closer but stopped when she sensed a new presence nearby. She smiled and turned around to see a violet cloaked individual standing there. It was a more significant angel. Its face was shrouded by the robe’s hood, and its hands were crossed inside the sleev
es.

  “Anatia, we’ve had this discussion before about you interfering. I hope you are not planning to do anything drastic with that mortal. Her soul is about to pass on.”

  “Are the Principalities having you spy on me now, Zadkiel?”

  “It is not our place to question our leaders. They know better than us and have been around much longer than you. We cannot interfere in the mortal world.”

  “And that is the problem! Inaction to do anything. The mortals struggle. Yes, they have free will, but look at what they are up against.”

  “I know what they are—”

  “You say you know…they say it as well, yet no one does anything! The evils they face have made pacts with what lurks in the darkness. The field of battle is being swayed, and I am leveling it.”

  “I warn you again, do not do this. I will forgive your rule-breaking, but they will not, and we have seen what happens when we defy our lord’s will. Angels fall.”

  Anatia smirked. “Thank you for your forgiveness, but I will do what I feel is right. There is more at stake here than our rules.”

  “So be it,” said Zadkiel, and he vanished.

  Anatia turned back around and knelt next to Saasha. She plucked a feather from her wing, covered it with both her hands, and prayed. A gold light emanated from her hands, and when she removed one, all that remained of the feather was golden dust. She sprinkled the dust over Saasha’s body and concentrated. It took a few seconds, and the smoky apparition hovering in the air floated back down into the body. Saasha’s back arched as she took in a deep breath. She flailed her arms and body as she struggled to sit up, but Anatia placed her hands on Saasha’s arms and calmed her down.

  “It will be OK. Relax, my dear Saasha.”

  “By God, you’re celestial. Forgive my disrespect.”

  “No disrespect taken.”

  “Am I dead?” asked Saasha, forcing herself to sit up and check her wounds. “I am alive. There is no pain.”

  Anatia looked at the confused look on Saasha’s face. “Yes, you are alive and fully healed.”