by RM Brewer
"Yeah. Tanks. There's a bunch of them just sitting there, waiting."
"I don't know anything about tanks, but it can't be that hard to use one, can it? I mean, I can hot wire a car or an ATV," Claire said. "How hard could it be to hot wire a tank?"
"Exactly my thought," Fester said, wondering if Claire was too old for him, thinking he might just be in love with this woman.
"Well, we'd better get going, then. We wouldn't want to miss out on any of the fun."
Fester wanted to hug her. "Great. I'll drive."
"See now, that's where I draw the line. You don't even have a license. Besides that, you need to have that automatic weapon pointed out the window in case we run into resistance on the way."
"So, it's not okay if I drive a truck, but it's okay if I shoot people?"
Claire smiled at him and Fester knew for certain that he was in love.
"Yeah. Well, something like that."
"You're pretty tough, Agent Hathaway."
"And you, as well, Mr. Martin. Let's go," she said, walking toward the truck.
Fester followed, wondering if they'd be alive tomorrow. If today was all they had, he'd do his part to make the best of it. After all, tomorrow Chuck would be angry with him for disobeying orders. That seemed like it might be infinitely more difficult to deal with than a few virals.
* * *
Mei's feet seemed to be in a constant state of transformation. As she stepped, the snapping of her bones breaking was rivaled only by the noise her toes made as they popped off and were replaced by talons. She stood for a moment, watching this happen, marveling at the transformation. Then, hunger gripped her and she knew it was time to feed.
On the other side of the docking bay, the group she'd saved earlier cowered behind a palette of boxes. Mei saw the horrified expression on Rita's face as she poked her head out from behind the stack of supplies. Mei could feel her friend's fear as she stepped out in the open and held up her hand.
"Mei, it's me, Rita," she said, her voice shaking. "Mei, remember us? You saved us. We tried to help you."
Mei moved forward a few steps and growled, pleased with the sound her new feet made as they clinked against the metal floor.
"We can still help you. Remember what we talked about? Remember my promise to you?" Rita held up a syringe.
Mei's mind flashed back to their conversation. She looked down at her feet and hands, her mind going back to a past life, the memories crowding her brain. Mei realized she didn't want to be like this. She didn't want to go on. She wanted death to take her now. Mei nodded.
"Good girl," Rita said. "I know you want a way out of this. Let me help you."
Mei took a step forward just as a door at the back of the bay opened and a group of Gypsum guards burst through. She crouched and growled at the guards, who started to back away. Out of the corner of her eye, Mei saw Rita slide back behind the stack of boxes again, hidden from view.
"What the fuck is that?" a guard said.
"Looks like a stray got out," another guard answered.
"Hey, there's people over there, too," the guard said, pointing to the direction Rita and her group hid. "Aren't those the patients from Section B? They're supposed to be sedated."
"Well, let's sedate all of them permanently. We don't have time to screw around. We're landing in about a minute."
Mei glanced over, seeing Rita's face again. Their eyes met and Mei nodded. "Thank you," Mei said. Then, she turned back toward the soldiers and crouched.
The next few moments were a blur of blood and gore as Mei slashed and bit her way through the group of soldiers. Gunfire rang out and Mei realized they were shooting at her. Pieces of her skin were being blasted away, yet she felt no pain. Turning to one of the shooters positioned on an overhead stairwell, she launched herself into the air, his automatic weapon pulverizing her chest as she flew. Finally, she landed on him, cocked her arm back and brought her fist forward, raking her talons across his body.
The expression on the guard's face was one of shock. For an odd moment, he smiled. Then, his body split in two and slumped to the floor. Mei grabbed at her chest, instinctively wanting to stem the blood flow from the gunshot wounds.
Behind her, more gunfire rang out as a guard emptied clip after clip on her, the shots that missed pinging and sparking off the walls. She turned and glared at him, bullets slamming into her body and glancing off her head. Mei flung herself at the man, some fifty feet away, hitting him with a force so hard that his body was reduced to a pulverized pile of mush.
Then, the room was quiet and she realized she was alone with Rita's group. Confusion raced through her mind. What had she agreed to just moments ago? Was Rita trying to kill her? She turned to see Rita standing out in the open again, seemingly unafraid. Didn't this woman understand Mei could tear her to pieces in an instant?
"Mei, I can still help you, if you want me to," Rita said, stepping closer.
The ship vibrated gently and Mei knew they must have landed. She didn't know what to do but realized she couldn't go on like she was.
"Is that even enough for morphine for her now?" Dennis called from behind the stack of boxes.
The sound of his voice enraged Mei. This whiny man, sending a woman out to do the dirty work. Maybe it would be best if she took care of him first.
"Dennis, shut your mouth," Rita said. "Don't pay any attention to him. He's always been a nitwit."
Mei growled low and fell into a crouch.
"Now, Mei, you have to concentrate. Remember what you told me. Remember what you said you wanted. I can give that to you."
"I'm telling you, it won't be enough," Dennis called out.
Mei sprung, launching herself over Rita's head, landing at Dennis' feet. A few people in the group behind Dennis screamed and pushed farther against the wall. She reached out and grabbed him by the neck, dragging him up onto the stairs, not quite sure what to do with him.
"Oh, my God," Rita screamed. "Mei, you have to let him go. He's just a stupid man who says stupid things. Don't do this."
Suddenly, a sliver of sunlight wedged its way into the docking bay as a ramp began to lower. Mei covered her eyes, which burned in the bright light. She clung to Dennis, dragging him farther up the stairs until they were near a door to the interior of the ship. Below, Rita scampered back to her hiding place as the ramp touched the ground. The sounds of warfare poured into the bay, a mixture of gunfire and the screeching of virals. It sounded like the end of the world.
Soldiers scampered into the ship, taking up defensive positions as a truck pulled in to unload.
"Get it moving," a soldier barked out. "We need them up and running ASAP."
"Hey, Serg," a soldier called out. "What the hell is this?" He pointed to a bloody smear on the floor leading to where Mei had thrown a body.
"Oh, shit," the Sergeant said. "Everyone on deck, now," he commanded, just as Dennis' body slammed into him, flattening him to the floor.
Mei leaped down, taking the head off one soldier, which she threw at another, embedding it in his abdomen. As he slumped to the floor, Mei saw the rest of the soldiers running out of the bay. She felt tired, exhausted by the events she'd just created, weary from trying to make her mind work. Then, she heard a voice she recognized. It was calling her from somewhere in a dream, wasn't it? It was Jodie.
Mei spun around on the slippery blood-coated deck, growling and spitting, searching until she saw her. It wasn't a dream after all. Jodie was there. So was Chuck Wending, but he was bigger than she remembered. Wasn't he just in her head? Didn't he tell her to hang on? Well, too late, Officer Wending. Way, way too late.
"Mei, it's me, Jodie. Mei?"
Mei growled low and scampered sideways, keeping her eye on Jodie. Behind her, Rita stepped out again, holding the syringe in her hand.
Jodie backed up, closer to Chuck. "Who are you?"
"Gypsum kidnapped us,” Rita said. “Mei helped us. She saved everyone and then this happened. She asked me to help her."
Rita held up the syringe to show Jodie.
"Oh, God," Jodie said, tears streaming down her face. Her knees began to buckle and Chuck grabbed her, holding her from falling. "I'm so sorry, Mei. We tried so long to find you. I'm so sorry."
Chuck reached over and took the syringe from Rita. "Get your people loaded onto that truck and get out of here."
Rita nodded and looked at Mei. "Remember what we talked about, Mei. Let them keep my promise to you."
Mei watched for a moment as the truck filled with the people she'd saved. In the jumble of anger and confusion that was becoming her mind, a thought came through. Maybe that was the reason she'd lived so long. Because of those people. She slumped to the floor, finding it difficult to breathe. One moment, she'd felt invincible. Now, clearly, her body was giving up instead.
"No," Jodie screamed.
Mei closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, Jodie was at her side, sliding her hand between Mei's head and the floor, cradling her like a baby. "Don't cry, Jodie," Mei said, not having enough strength to speak above a whisper. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again. It feels like a lifetime."
Jodie nodded, her tears splashing down everywhere.
"I have to go now before it starts again. You have to help me."
Jodie nodded. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't," Mei said. "Don't be."
Chuck bent down and plunged the syringe into Mei's arm.
"After all, I got to love you all this time," Mei whispered, her face growing slack, her breathing gradually becoming still as Jodie held her and wept.
* * *
Claire gritted her teeth as the truck skidded sideways, coming to rest about fifty feet from one of the tanks.
"Why'd you stop so far away?" Fester asked.
"We're out of gas, kid," Claire said, realizing that leaving Chuck and Jodie behind was never really an option if they had so little fuel to begin with. "We gotta run for it. Let's go."
Claire heard Fester slam a full clip into the rifle and they both jumped out of the truck, hitting the ground running. She reached the tank first and pulled herself up on the track, extending a hand down to Fester. Once he was up next to her, she looked over at the hatch on top as a bullet ricocheted off the tank muzzle.
Claire and Fester crouched down behind the turret.
"Look at that, Fester." Claire pointed. "The guys over by that building. Half of them are from Gypsum. The other half have military uniforms on. Either Gypsum is running the military or the other way around."
"They're all in it together," Fester said, his tone angry.
Claire noticed Fester's jaw was clenched. Best to get him moving before his anger overwhelmed him and he did something stupid. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Well, one thing is clear. They know we're here and they want us dead. Better cover me while I get that hatch open."
"Right," Fester said, crouching low. "Whenever you're ready."
"Now," Claire said.
Fester unleashed a volley of shots toward the shooter as Claire tugged at the wheel, finally getting it to spin. She dropped down to the track again as the shooter responded with continuous fire.
"They really don't want us in their tank, do they?" Claire yelled over the gunfire.
"No, they don't," Fester said, pulling out the gun clip to check on his ammunition. "We don't have a lot left. I think we have one more try at this."
A shadow overhead caught Claire’s attention as a huge piece of rock flew through the air, hitting a chopper hovering over them. The chopper exploded in a massive cloud of fire and metal. Claire could only respond by screaming and curling into a ball, covering her head as the chopper blew into pieces, sending debris flying. Claire felt the weight of Fester's body pushing her down as he covered her.
After the burning wreckage had hit the ground, Fester moved off of her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Claire trembled and nodded. "Thank you for that. Are you okay?"
Fester nodded.
"Well, then, we'd better get out of here, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I think you're right about that."
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah," Fester said, a determined look on his face.
Claire thought he looked like a seasoned soldier. All along, she'd been thinking of him as a boy, but he wasn't. From everything she'd heard about Fester's father, this boy was everything his father was not. "On three, then."
Fester nodded, then jumped at the sound of a war cry from the virals as they pushed the fence down. Even from a half mile away, they were a menacing sight, screaming and tearing over the landscape toward the installation.
"Let's go," Fester yelled, standing and pulling Claire up to the deck of the tank.
Fester pulled the hatch open, revealing a set of stairs. Claire jumped in, missing the steps altogether. She fell to the floor, but got up as quickly as she could and moved out of the way. Fester lowered the hatch and locked it behind him.
"Oh, my God, what the hell is all of this stuff?" Claire said. "I can't see anything. Do you see a light switch anywhere?" Claire tried to read the labels on the dashboard.
Fester shuffled around the cockpit, looking for something. "Aha. Here, I found this," he said, handing her a manual.
"And, if I could only see to read it," Claire said.
"Oh, hey, wait a minute," Fester said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his hand, producing a lighter.
"A genius you are, Tim Martin," Claire said. "May I have a light?"
"Why, yes," Fester said, flicking on the lighter.
Claire thumbed through the manual. "Hmm . . . okay. Simple," she said, tossing the manual to the side. "Strap in."
"Uh . . . okay," Fester said, sitting down in a chair that faced the opposite direction of the one Claire sat in. "Why does my chair face the other way?"
"You're the ammo loader. Look in front of you." Claire pointed to a rack of missiles.
"Okay, okay. Cool," Fester said.
Claire adjusted her seat, reached over and set the break levers, then started the engine. The cockpit light came on.
"Awesome," Fester said.
"Better grab us each one of those helmets," Claire said, pointing to a pile of gear. "And the earmuffs. I think it's going to get loud in here."
CHAPTER 17
Jodie was finding it difficult to care about anything after what had happened to Mei. Besides that, she was starting to feel queasy and feverish, symptoms reminiscent of the last time she'd been infected. Chuck was practically carrying her through the ship, searching for anything that could help. He pulled her into an empty, darkened room as they heard voices from down the hallway.
Jodie looked around, seeing a group of empty gurneys. "This must be where Mei found those people," she whispered.
"Yeah, I was thinking they probably have medical staff onboard, too. They must still have the antidote, don't you think? I mean, if they were transporting virals, wouldn't they keep something like that around, just in case?"
"Who knows?" Jodie said. "They seem to have everything else." Suddenly feeling extremely tired, Jodie staggered over and slumped down on a chair against the wall.
"Are you okay?" The look on Chuck's face exposed the anger he was harboring against himself for his part in having infected her.
"I'm fine," Jodie said, lying. In actuality, she felt as if her teeth would blow out of her head at any moment. "We need to find someone . . . a medical person . . . and get them to help . . . to find the vaccine." Just talking took her breath away. "We don't even know what we're looking for."
"Yeah," Chuck said, sliding open a drawer to rifle through its contents. "I was just thinking that same thing. You stay here while I look."
Jodie wanted to argue with him. She wanted to go with him and protect him, but she had nothing left. The virus was beginning to take its toll on her. Even worse, losing Mei had taken her will to stop the transformation from happening.
"Don't you give up on me, Jodie Watts," Chuck said, grabbing her
hand. "Remember what we're fighting for." Chuck turned away and slipped out of the room.
Jodie felt helpless to do anything other than watch her tears fall and stain the fabric of the pants she wore. She could still see Mei's face, begging her to end it. Now, she knew exactly how Mei felt. She finally wanted it all to be over, too. It had been months since she'd had any sort of relief. The constant anxiety she'd felt after Mei was taken and the torment she'd put herself through, thinking of what could be happening to her, were rewarded only with the cruel reality of Mei's death. To say life had not treated her or Mei fairly was an understatement of tremendous proportions.
Then, she thought of her father, waiting for her to come home, probably worried sick. The idea that she was never going to see him again added to her profound sadness, but Jodie still couldn't find a reason to want to stay alive. She wished she had a gun and could put herself out of her misery. If she did it, though, if she killed herself, who would fight Gypsum? Who was left to take them down if not her? She couldn't expect Fester to pick up the charge where she left off. After all, he was just a boy. And Claire? She had no one. Even the team was gone. Claire and Fester were only two souls left to battle thousands. In her heart, Jodie felt the war had been lost.
Then she wondered, what would happen to Nick and Christy, Noah and Hunter? If she were gone, who would look out for them? Would they be sentenced to a life on the run from virals, aliens, and who knew what? Would they be trapped in a nightmare until the day they finally found their end as well? What of Debi and Bill and the kindness they'd shown her? How could she think to let them down? Even Mei fought evil to the bitter end, saving people she hardly knew.
Little by little, Jodie let the faces of her family and friends fill her up. She let Mei's example lift her from the absolute depths of despair and pull her back into the light. Now wasn't the time to give up. Now was the time to keep going. They were almost there, her and Chuck, almost at the pinnacle, the absolute jumping off point where they could bring Gypsum down for good. How in the world could she think about stopping now?
Jodie smiled as she leaned back and felt herself falling asleep. I just need a little rest now, she thought. Just a nap.