by Chris Bostic
“That’s not me,” she said. “Besides, I don’t sneak around. My protocols won’t allow it.”
“You sneak around the nav sats,” Joe said.
“And nearly got us killed.”
“It’s not the others, baby sister. You’re the most advanced. I will need your assistance.”
Joe much preferred to have the less mobile Faith or Barta stay behind. Even if they didn’t have anything to help Smig, he decided that he would still push to leave them in the rear when the time came—and that would be soon. Even at their current glacial rate of travel, Joe realized they could easily be close to the complex by midafternoon. The coming nighttime was probably the ideal time to infiltrate.
“Can’t you remote link with Jade?” Joe asked Smig. “Why does she have to be close to you?”
Smig raised his arm and the little cable snaked out of the stub. “We can communicate more rapidly and more securely on a direct connection.”
“Then we won’t know the way inside.”
“We can communicate with our other sisters, and they will show you the way.”
Joe watched as Bruce and Bruno bounded ahead. They stopped at the edge of the woods, each raising a paw like a pointer focused on its quarry.
“I’d rather have the dogs,” Joe said.
“That can be arranged.”
CHAPTER 20
Thankfully, Faith and Barta seemed too preoccupied fighting over Connie to notice Joe’s semi-unintended insult. Between shouldering his backpack and weapon and having the two girls dragging themselves along on his arms, the grizzly sergeant seemed no longer overjoyed about having them with him. Or so Joe thought at the time.
Jade trailed behind looking equally annoyed.
After an extended silent period, Joe got Leisa’s attention, and subtly pointed toward their broken-hearted companion. “She looks so sad,” he mouthed so Jade wouldn’t hear.
Leisa nodded. To Joe’s surprise, she took his hand and pulled him ahead so they could catch up to her.
“What’s the matter, Jade?” Leisa asked. “I’ve never seen you like this.”
“I’m fine.”
Joe harrumphed. “Sounds like a woman talking. Even I know not to believe that.” He doubled over when Leisa elbowed him in the side. “Hey!”
“Don’t be a jerk,” she said.
A mischievous grin flashed on Jade’s face. “Maybe you could do that to Sarge for me.”
Leisa cracked her knuckles. “I’d love to.”
After a long, uncomfortable pause, Jade appeared stymied on how to phrase a question.
“Just ask,” Leisa encouraged. “I’ll knock him down a notch or two for you.”
“It’s not that.” Jade paused again. “I think I need some advice.”
“Sure, sister. Fire away.”
Before Jade could ask, Connie covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. Jade’s face turned bright red as Faith rubbed her chest against his arm and giggled.
“Oh, honey,” Leisa said, aghast at how insensitive Connie could be. “I can’t believe he’d let those two hang all over him when he could have you.”
“That’s very sweet,” Jade whispered.
As they plodded along, Jade kept to herself. Joe wanted to ask her if she still needed that advice, but decided to let it go until later.
The terrain was fortunately flat through most of the woods, though an occasional ravine presented itself. Thus far, Smig had been able to traverse them on his own, but as they headed down a shallow incline toward a larger ditch, Joe assumed he would have to drop back.
He turned to check on Smig, and nearly ran up Jade’s back.
“Sorry.” He quieted when he found Jade staring at the ground. Up ahead, Connie had wrapped an arm around Barta’s waist and pulled her close to him.
It looked to Joe like he was simply helping the girl across the ditch, but he knew Jade hadn’t taken it that way.
“Do I have to be weak to get his attention?” she mumbled.
“Don’t ever do that,” Leisa insisted. “Be strong and proud.”
“I try, but he never seems to notice.”
“Then take your shirt off,” Joe said. “That always did the trick.”
“Joseph!” Leisa shouted. “You did not just say that.”
“It is hot out here.” The sun had risen fully overhead by that point, but Leisa was heated for an entirely different reason.
She stepped in front of him. “How dare you-”
“Hey, it’s just a joke,” he said, raising his arms to protect himself.
Jade hadn’t taken it that way. She had the top three buttons of her shirt undone, and she was working on the fourth one.
“How does this look?”
Joe knew better than to reply.
Leisa grabbed her hand to stop her. “Don’t listen to him. Boys are gross.”
“But Sarge does like it.”
“Honey, you don’t need to do that to get a man.” Leisa pulled Jade’s hands away from her shirt and tried to refasten her buttons. “Respect yourself, and the right guy will respect you.”
Connie turned around at that moment. His jaw hung open as he watched Leisa in an unintentionally compromising position.
Leisa looked up and locked eyes with her sergeant. “Pervert,” she growled, and rotated Jade away from him so she could finish buttoning her up.
“Not too high.” Jade swatted her hand away. “I need to breathe.” When Leisa looked at her curiously, she added, “It’s so hot out here. I can get overheated.”
“Sure.” Leisa left Jade alone, and kept a watchful eye on Connie. He no longer leered at them. Instead, he looked sheepishly at his feet while the two girls continued hanging off his arms, chatting non-stop in his ears.
Joe ignored them all. He crept forward toward the dogs, leaving the others behind him. As he approached a shallow rise, he crouched to keep his head below the horizon. Inching into place, he got his first view of the valley ahead.
To his astonishment, it looked like the prison camp, but surprisingly more secure. Rather than one line of tall fencing topped with razor wire, he noted a second, parallel line. Far beyond the fences, he could see why they called it by the rather generic Complex Three name.
He made out no type of distinguishable feature. Blocky-style warehouses stood on a grid pattern that stretched all the way to the horizon—which wasn’t terribly far thanks to the distortion from heat leaching into the atmosphere.
“Unholy alliance,” he uttered, and dropped to his knees. He turned to make sure the others hadn’t caught up yet, before settling back in next to the dogs. They laid at his side, seemingly sniffing the wind.
Not a soul stirred behind the fence line.
Guard towers soared into the sky, evenly but widely spaced along the perimeter. No roads approached the complex from the direction they were coming, nor was there any sign of a gate. And he didn’t have a clue what of those similarly shaped buildings would be designated as Complex Three.
Gleaming wire stretched from left to right as far as he could see. Baked brown dirt offered a sharp contrast to the forest, but the barren part seemed to be only inside the compound. A field of long grass ran from his position on the hillock for a mile or more to the fence.
“We can’t get in there,” he said. “There’s no way.”
Joe wasn’t usually a quitter, but he sank to the ground and seriously considered it. There seemed no compelling reason to attempt to penetrate the fence, and most likely die trying.
We should go find Leisa’s brother instead, he thought. This is a suicide mission.
Having seen enough to satisfy himself to that eventuality, he slunk back to the others. Before he could tell Leisa what he had seen, she told him, “Maybe we should give Sarge a break.”
He furrowed his brow. “Say what?”
“The girls,” Leisa said. “I think he needs to talk to Jade in private before we split up.”
“About that…” Joe said. “I’m not s
o sure.”
“Why? I mean it is kinda weird giving relationship advice to a, uh…whatever she is. But those guys deserve some time to work it out before we separate.”
Joe shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.” He touched her arm to get her attention. “I’ve seen the complex. We’re not getting anywhere near that place.”
“What are you talking about?”
“While you were back here playing matchmaker, I snuck on ahead. You can see the complex right over that hill.” He pointed ahead to where the dogs remained at attention. “It’s locked down tighter than the prison.”
“Oh.” Leisa searched his eyes and quickly seemed to figure out he was dead serious. “That’s not good.”
Joe looked to their companions who had all settled into the shade of the tree line. Before he pulled Leisa over toward them, he said, “So maybe we don’t have to go in there…I mean even if we could.”
“Maybe. I wouldn’t complain.”
“I know.”
Before they could work out a new plan, Smig called for a group meeting. Joe shrugged at Leisa. They plodded over to where everyone had gathered underneath an oversized, fern-like shrub.
“We are very close to our objective,” Smig started. “It’s all downhill from here.”
“In more ways than one,” Joe muttered, drawing a look from Jade.
Smig continued as if he hadn’t heard Joe. After a quick discussion on the general layout of the complex, he started back in on the plan.
“Once I get to the top of this little hill, I can establish direct communications with you anywhere within the complex. I will need to stay tucked back in the woods behind some cover and guide you from there.”
“Guide us where?” Joe said. “It’s a huge wide open space from here to the fence.”
“Cover of night can solve a lot of those problems, and I have other ways. There are no searchlights, so that will greatly simplify your approach.”
“Right, because we have so much free time with the savages on our heels.”
“Don’t forget the drone thing,” Leisa added.
Joe shivered. “Oh I haven’t forgotten that, but thanks for reminding me anyway.”
Smig remained uncharacteristically quiet. The agitation grew within Joe when it became apparent no one was willing to take charge.
Joe looked to his sergeant to see if the steady military man had an opinion. It was certainly odd that he hadn’t voiced one, and Joe quickly found out why. He’d slumped back against a tree.
“Get a load of Sarge,” he whispered to Leisa. They watched as he tipped to the side and ended up resting his head in Faith’s lap.
“Sarge!” Leisa yelled.
“Wh-what?” Connie’s eyes darted around. “I’m awake.”
“Yeah, right,” Leisa chided. “You’ve really lost your edge. A soldier doesn’t sleep on the job. You could use a bit of that discipline you always liked to dish out.”
“A little preoccupied, are we?” Joe said, eyeing Faith. He instantly regretted the words when he saw the frown marring Jade’s features.
“Whatever.” Connie sat up and scooted away from Faith. He leaned forward to literally insert himself into the conversation. “When are we going in? I’m ready to get this over with.”
“We were just deciding that,” Joe replied. “It’s more well-defended than the prison. I’d vote to move on and forget about it.”
“I must strongly urge you not to entertain those thoughts,” Smig said. “We cannot miss out on this chance to save Frederick. We are his only hope.”
“That’s not really my concern,” Joe said emphatically, but glanced at Leisa out of the corner of his eye to make sure she agreed.
Leisa nodded. “I’m sorry, but…I don’t see myself dying for this guy. If what Joe says is right, this is a suicide mission.”
“Is that so?” Connie asked. “Dying doesn’t sound like a real high priority to me either.”
“It may appear well-defended, but looks can be deceiving.” Smig turned to face Connie. “Many of the guards have already been sent out to help in the defense of the city proper. With some guidance, I can get you inside the complex. You just need to follow my directions.”
“We have to trust you?” Connie said. “I’ll trust my own instincts over a tin can.”
More than one of their companions recoiled at his harsh words.
“I’m just saying,” he blustered. “When do I trust a computer to fight a war.”
“When haven’t we?” Joe shot back, though he hadn’t really expected to find himself arguing against his sergeant. “That’s what you always said. Us kids were weak. We push a button and blow up the enemy.”
“And I meant it. I don’t have any use for machines. Not with these two hands.”
“Everything we used on the battlefield was computerized,” Joe said. “What isn’t anymore?”
“It doesn’t mean I have to listen to them. I can make up my own mind.” Connie gripped his coilgun and held it out in front of himself. “A few microchips doesn’t make this thing brilliant. It can’t shoot without me.”
“It could be programmed to fire without an operator,” Smig said. “Frederick could easily make that happen.”
“And it wouldn’t do it because then it would be afraid to hurt a living creature.” Connie laughed maniacally. “And what good would that do on the battlefield?”
“More than you might think,” Leisa said. “Maybe more people need to think first and shoot later.”
“Bunch of crap,” Connie said. “I may not have liked fighting for the glory of the Republic, but it didn’t stop me from doing my job.”
“And what job is that?” Smig asked. “Invading territories with no strategic objective. Exterminating other cultures in a sickening lust for conquest?”
“Those weren’t my orders.”
“Well, they didn’t come from a computer.” Though the tin can couldn’t have physically done so, Joe imagined Smig using air quotes around the word computer.
“We’re on the same side, guys,” Jade interrupted. “We shouldn’t fight amongst ourselves.”
Connie harrumphed, but quickly bit back the anger. He looked to Joe and Leisa and motioned them off to the side. That didn’t set Joe any more at ease. He got the distinct impression from his sergeant the situation had very quickly devolved into people versus machines.
“You two want to ditch these guys?” Connie asked. “It might be time to go find your families.”
“Seriously?” Leisa mumbled, though Joe had no idea from her response how she really felt.
Joe wavered, wondering if Smig was correct about the depleted defenses. While he desperately wanted to find out what was left of his old home, he wasn’t necessarily ready to leave Jade behind. Or any of the others, if he was being honest with himself.
Jade made up his mind for him, though not in the way he had expected.
She burst into their huddle, knocking shoulders with Connie. “You’re not going anywhere yet, Sarge,” she said forcefully. “The H-K is back.”
CHAPTER 21
“Where?” he said, unmoving. Joe was much readier to listen, and dropped into a crouch before she could start explaining.
“Low from the west. It’s not circling anymore. They’re on a direct approach.”
“Is one of you being tracked?” Connie snapped. “That walking garbage can or the chatty little one?”
Joe wedged his way between his sergeant and Jade to ask her, “What do we do?”
“Run.”
Joe took Leisa’s hand and took off for the depths of the forest. Out by the fringe, afternoon sun ripped through the gaps between trunks in sheets, pelting his back with a tangerine glow.
He felt like a target.
Boots pounding, coilguns clanking against limbs, they charged down an incline. He looked over his shoulder to spot the others, but all was a blur.
The orange pall fell over the pitiful band of revolutionaries, painting
them in golden streaks like autumn. But there were no seasons once the climate had changed. It was always hot, sometimes wet, and the tree leaves no longer turned to vibrant red or glowing orange and yellow. And they never fell away. The only thing that ever dropped to return to the Earth were the bodies of the Republic’s citizens—the old to disease and starvation, the young to the never-ending wars.
Death was upon Joe again—and he was too winded to go any faster.
Slowing, he turned to once again to try to spot the others. As one might expect with a stealthy drone, Joe saw his attacker long before he could ever hear it. And that was only because it cut directly in front of the sun.
“There it is!” The abrupt passing of the shadow over their position was enough to have him sprinting through the woods with Leisa in tow. “Hurry!”
“I’m trying!” she panted.
Brush thrashed off to their left side. Joe assumed it was one of the others. He dove to the opposite side, having come nearly face to face with a tree as big around as his prison cell.
It was the best move he could have made.
“Get down!” he yelled as he slid around behind the behemoth. He reached back to pull Leisa toward him.
The entire woods exploded around them. Trees shattered under a hailstorm of molten metal. Zaps louder than lightning strikes blew apart trees, leaving behind oddly flowered, fanned out tree corpses in shattered stalks resembling onion appetizers.
The Hunter-Killer wasn’t finished.
The electric crackle in the air morphed to a sizzle as gleaming red projectiles the size of fireballs tore through what was left of the tree canopy, tattering it like it was nothing more than an old flag. But not the goliath tree.
Joe had already pulled Leisa underneath himself and covered her. His backpack helped cushion the blow from falling branches. Splinters whipped in a superheated wind, trying to penetrate his shirt to dig at his skin.
With a final gust, the hell on Earth ended almost as quickly as it had begun.
Joe refused to move for a while, not even exhaling until his lungs ached. When he dared crack his eyes open, he found himself buried under a pile of leaves and branches.