by Paul Teague
Mitchell blamed himself for everything. If he’d just helped Wiz a bit they could have sorted out the tech, saved Joe and Lucy, and had a good stab at taking down Damien Hunter. If he’d kept his mouth shut and just fed Delman lies and mistruths, he might have kept his friends safe. Would Delman have fallen for it? He wasn’t sure how much choice he’d really had in the matter.
Teanna Schaelles had been the biggest surprise for him. She was in league with Damien Hunter. The President didn’t even know. If he could get that news out into the open it would create massive problems. However, Hunter had tied up all the loose ends. Mitchell was stuck in The Grid and there was no way any of that information would get out into the open. He’d missed his chance, he had misjudged events and got it completely wrong.
In the van, Hunter had been like an animal. Mitchell had told him everything before Damien even touched him with any of the deadly torture instruments in his bag. But Hunter had tortured him anyway. He’d sliced off pieces of skin, stuck scalpels underneath fingernails and impaled him with small skewers which kept him alive but created excruciating pain. Much of the pain had been psychological. It was the threat and the waiting which made it so bad, it had almost been a relief when he’d got on with it. Teanna had saved him in the end. He’d thought it was over, but she’d stepped in and saved his life. Had she really been offering Damien a better way to deal with Mitchell, or had she hesitated when she’d seen what was being done to him? He’d probably never know, but he was grateful to her all the same.
He was in great pain. Hunter hadn’t incapacitated him, just found many ways to hurt him. The dressings had helped, but every part of his body hurt. Hunter had been thorough and expert in his work.
Mitchell kept his eyes closed and stayed still. He’d let them think he was still partially conscious, it saved him having to engage though he listened intently to the conversations of the others.
He heard how Hannah had successfully infiltrated Fortrillium and managed to help Joe and Lucy survive. It was even possible that they’d escaped. Clay was the leader, he’d done some amazing things. Mitchell was pleased to have somebody strong like that within the group of Justice Seekers.
He’d been surprised to hear Jena talking. She was transformed since he’d last seen her in The Climbs. Harry’s death and Joe’s arrest had shaken her out of the trance she’d been in. Mitchell was in awe of her as she described her gun battle on the staircase with the Centuria. He wondered if he would be able to show the same resolve if he was placed in a similar situation. He doubted it. He felt so scared all the time, he thought he lacked the courage to make a stand.
They all had incredible stories to tell. Max Penner sounded as if he’d had a terrible time. Talya had told them she had a source of information on Silk Road, but Mitchell never thought she would have used torture. Yet Max had already forgiven her, it had shaken him out of his own inaction and forced him to stand up and be counted. Mitchell yearned to have the same mettle as the others, but he was a spineless, treacherous little rat. He despised himself, how could he justify his place among such an impressive group of people?
There was some unease about the presence of a Centuria. They had all spent a lifetime living in fear of Fortrillium’s military force. The consensus was that Julia was the same as everybody else, they were just people trying to survive in an impossible environment. Nobody got left out in The Grid, they were all Justice Seekers, they fought together.
Mitchell wondered how he could move on from where he was. Did the others even know what he’d done? Wiz certainly did, but at least he’d managed to send Wiz a warning. He’d done something honourable at last, but it was probably too little, too late. He lay there, churning over all the terrible things he’d done, and wondering how he could ever retrieve the situation.
The answer came sooner than he could have anticipated. Clay and Julia were still out on their scouting trip while the remaining Justice Seekers had created a temporary base behind the concrete block which had served so well as cover under sniper fire. The attack came without warning, nobody had been expecting it.
From nowhere, three men wearing black overalls appeared at either end of the enclosed area that had provided shelter for the group. Black overalls meant a serial killer. Three serial killers, all dressed in the overalls of Justice Seekers. Were they part of The Grid trial? The men were exactly the same. There was confusion as the pieces were put together.
‘Schälen!’ shouted Chris, who’d recognized the deadly clones immediately.
‘Hell, you’re supposed to be dead!’ came Ross’s voice as he turned to grab his weapon.
‘Who’s Schälen?’ asked Max.
‘Haven’t you heard of me?’ came Schälen’s reply. ‘Well, no worries, you can get to know us a little better right now.’
Schälen had the advantage of surprise. Ross was still in a bad way and not capable of doing much fighting. Chris’s reaction had been to panic, he couldn’t understand how he’d killed the animal and yet he’d come back. There were three of him. How was that possible?
Jena, Max and Hannah had not yet encountered the monster, though Hannah knew what it was straight away. She recognized him well enough from the pixel view she’d been able to access while working at Fortrillium. The black overalls confirmed it.
‘They’ve cloned him. This isn’t the real Schälen, he’s been created by the Gridders. He’s real to us though, and he’s probably even more dangerous. Be careful, there may be more of them!’
There were only two weapons available to the group, a broken spear and a scythe. The Schälen clones were heavily armed. Each carried a long knife with a deadly serrated edge, a long spear and, in a holster slung over his back, a scimitar.
The clones were approaching the group with knife and spear ready. One neared Mitchell. He leapt up and joined the main cluster who were standing in a defensive line in front of Ross.
‘Mitchell?’ Hannah said, surprised at his sudden recovery. She immediately understood what had been going on. He’d been playing wounded all that time. It had taken a threat to shake him out of it. She was disappointed, shocked, but there was no time to talk. She understood what the Gridders were doing, this was an entertaining interlude before the final Mode. The clones were strong and intent, their sole mission was to take lives.
They began to move in on the group. Hannah grabbed the spear, Max took the scythe. There seemed little they could do. They couldn’t attack, each clone was armed with a spear that would pierce them before they got anywhere near.
Jena had seen an opportunity. She picked up a fragment of shattered concrete, throwing it directly at the clone who was closest to her. It hit his head, sending him staggering back.
‘Well, at least they can be hurt like the real Schälen,’ said Ross, attempting to stand up so he could join the fight. The others followed Jena’s lead, picking up fragments of concrete from the floor. The clones had been forced into action by Jena’s move. One ran directly at Max, his blade grazing his side as he violently thrust his spear. Max gave a cry but managed to use the scythe he’d been holding to knock the spear onto the ground. Mitchell retreated behind Ross. He held a piece of concrete in his hand but dared not throw it. He watched as the others bravely fought.
Only Jena, Max and Hannah were offering any real resistance. Chris was doing his best to throw pieces of rubble but seemed unsure what to do. He was overwhelmed by the situation, completely daunted by sight of three clones of the man he thought he’d killed.
The clones seemed to have been implanted with the real Schälen’s memories because they were intent on getting to Chris. Max passed his scythe to Hannah and picked up Schälen’s dropped spear while Jena fought with her broken weapon. Ross did his best to throw stones, but he was slow and sore.
The clone fighting Max had drawn his scimitar. He was looking Max directly in the eyes. Max thrust the spear every time the clone got closer. He continued to approach, cautiously and tentatively.
Jena did t
he same with her clone. He approached and she tried to fend him off. Hannah was embroiled in full combat. The clone was swiping at her with the serrated knife, grazing her cheek twice, she felt each tear of skin as it did so.
Without warning the clones, in unison, changed direction and ran at Chris. He threw the stone he’d been clutching and screamed. They were coming for revenge. It took Max, Jena and Hannah by surprise. One second they’d been engaged in direct combat, the next their opponent turned and rushed at a new target, one that was unarmed and exposed.
One of the clones raised his scimitar and brought it down on Chris’s arm. He’d just picked up another stone, ready to throw. The weapon cut right through Chris’s limb. It dropped to the ground, still holding the small fragment of concrete. He let out an agonized cry and fell to his knees, clutching the bloody stump where his arm had once been.
Jena jumped onto the clone’s back, thrusting her spear end into the neck of the abomination. It threw her off onto the ground, she struck her head and was dazed by the violence of her fall. Another of the clones drew back his spear and thrust it into Chris’s stomach. The third threw down his own spear, drew his scimitar from its sheath and drew back his arm. Max could see what he was intending to do, and he thrust his own spear into the back of the clone. The clone stopped momentarily then continued with its deadly objective. The sharp blade flew through the air, removing Chris’s head effortlessly before he’d even had a chance to see it was coming. His body fell to the ground.
Two of the clones were wounded, but one was still unharmed. Jena could have sworn afterwards that time stood still for a moment after Chris’s execution, but it couldn’t possibly have been so. All of the Justice Seekers looked at Chris’s corpse. Hannah called his name in disbelief. Max froze for an instant.
The mortally wounded clone dropped his bloodied scimitar and drew his knife. Holding it by its tip, he aimed it at Mitchell. Ross saw it was coming and pushed Mitchell out of the way. Before the clone had dropped to the floor, dead, it took one more life. The knife that had been aimed at Mitchell sank deep into Ross’s eye, lodging in his brain. He died immediately, clutching Mitchell’s arm.
Mitchell observed the precise point at which things changed for him, in spite of the pace of events. It was then and there, at the moment of Ross’s death. He’d been terrified, shielding himself from the fighting, and cowering in the corner. When he saw what Ross had done for him, the fear left him. He became enraged. He realized this was exactly what had happened to Jena and Max. Every person had their limit. They would inhabit fear until it was forcibly ejected from its sphere. Mitchell had avoided engagement until the last possible moment. But when he had to look death directly in the eyes, he stepped forward. He chose to live.
Mitchell lowered Ross to the ground, as Max, Hannah and Jena attempted to repel the remaining two clones. Mitchell calmly extracted the knife from Ross’s eye socket. He heard the squelch of brain tissue as the blade exited its victim. He’d never held a weapon before in his life, but he gripped the handle with the surety of a hunter who knew he was about to make a kill. Summoning all the anger he could muster, Mitchell ran at the wounded clone, pushing between Max and Jena, and plunged the knife straight into the beast’s heart.
This Schälen dropped to the ground. Mitchell looked towards Hannah. The final clone had her cornered, raising his scimitar ready to smash it through the middle of her skull. Letting go of the knife, Mitchell turned to run at the clone. He saw that it was about to begin its final, deadly swipe. He was not going to let Hannah die. He’d secretly adored her from afar, but he’d been unworthy of her attention. He had betrayed her and let her down. He’d been despicable, but it ended there. He knew he’d never win Hannah’s heart, but that no longer mattered to him.
As he ran towards her, he grabbed Max’s scythe by the blade. Its sharp edge cut through his hand, but he’d experienced terrible agonies from Damien Hunter’s torture and he knew the pain could be survived. He held his gaze on the scimitar all the time, watching as it began to make its journey to the centre of Hannah’s skull. He leapt as high as he could, flipping the scythe in his hand and plunging it with every bit of strength he could muster into the wrist of the clone.
It cut right through. The hand dropped to the ground, and the scimitar fell at Hannah’s side, missing its target. Mitchell delivered one more blow of his weapon, this time driving it into the head of the clone. The final assailant dropped to the ground. All was silent, except for the adrenalin-fuelled breathing of the survivors.
There were two dead, Ross and Chris, and all of the clones had been stopped. Hannah had been crouched on the ground waiting for death to come. Max and Jena had been astounded by Mitchell’s speed, it had taken them by surprise. They’d survived, but there were terrible casualties. They’d lost two Justice Seekers, everywhere there was blood.
The clones began to pixelate, then disappeared, leaving no trace of weapons or blood. A holographic image of Damien Hunter appeared before them. They knew what it was. Surely not? They needed rest, they weren’t ready.
As Damien Hunter began to speak, the three Justice Seekers could only stand there and listen to his words. It was the beginning of the third and final Mode. There was to be no break and no rest. It was the early hours of the morning, yet they were going straight into battle again. There was to be no delay. For some, it would be the final battle.
Chapter Eight
Vanished
Tom Slater had felt uneasy all through that day. Something was going on that he didn’t know about, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. When the moment came, in the short time he had to reflect, he was grateful for the way he’d parted from his family that morning.
Lucy had been up and awake, as had Talya, and he’d enjoyed a pleasant breakfast with both of them. His Fortrillium shift began early, as did all work in The City, so it was not unusual for him to be out of the house at 06:00. Talya was due in The Climbs that day on some pro bono work for somebody who’d got himself into a skirmish by stealing power from one of the Centuria devices that were situated throughout the ruined tower blocks. She was doing her best to keep him a free man. It was only because he’d been a former Silk Roader that he hadn’t been incarcerated already. Tom thought it unlikely she’d succeed. He felt that Talya was being humoured by the authorities, but he supported her efforts nonetheless. Lucy was her normal happy self and had asked Tom to drop something off for Joe Parsons on his way to work – Tom and Matt always walked in together. The families were close, so he was happy to do that for his daughter.
The walk to work was nothing unusual. He called for Matt, exchanged pleasantries with Jena, Joe and Dillon, and set off towards Fortrillium with his friend. What had begun as a routine walk to the workplace had become valuable time in which the two men could discuss their activities without fear of being overheard. It seemed they were drawing closer to the conclusion, they’d have all the evidence they needed very soon.
‘Are you sure the data is safe, Tom?’ Matt had demanded. ‘If we put our families at risk in any way, I’ll never forgive myself – or you.’
‘There’s no trail back to Talya or Jena. If we get caught, they’re completely out of it, it’s you and me in for an encounter with Damien Hunter. Our WristComs can place any evidence directly onto a secure area on your Fortrillium storage area. Everything we’ve got is stored there. It’s DNA encrypted so – even if they found it – it’s invisible to them. Only you can get to it, or your immediate family members, of course, but they’d have to get into your Fortrillium account to do that. It’s safe, Matt, honestly. I don’t know how to make it any safer.’
‘Okay, I’m transferring all of my images, notes and video evidence today. That’s everything we have on Hunter. It’s damning stuff. Surely he couldn’t survive that if it was leaked to the screens?’
‘Who knows with that man? Nothing ever seems to stick, I’m beginning to think he’s untouchable.’
‘Where are we up to with the dat
a stream? Any further on?’ Matt continued.
‘It’s tricky. I’m certain it’s not Fortrillium technology and I also don’t believe Hunter is involved – or aware. I’m beginning to wonder if Delman is up to something too. It has to come from outside The City, I just don’t know where.’
‘It’s frustrating. I wish we could make some progress on that. Can you forward me the information? I’ll place it in the files. I want this information stored somewhere secure. It’s been risky concealing it in the open, we need it somewhere safe now. I’ve got everything on a personal data card ready for transfer. It’s no use to anyone without DNA decryption or Fortrillium network access. If it gets lost, it would just look like a family photo album.’
The conversation changed as the men neared Fortrillium’s offices. They would never risk discussing their plans in the building. They were playing with fire as it was, but they had to keep going.
It had all started with a simple cover-up. They noticed a discrepancy in the number of dead in an incident in The Climbs. Although she never knew it, Talya had helped them to put the pieces together. She’d mentioned that The Climbs was alive with rumours about a massacre during the night. It had been suggested Damien Hunter was involved, but that rumour never made it over to Silk Road. Something had made Matt dig a little deeper. He’d investigated the recordings from the Centuria cameras to help to verify the numbers, but they’d been tampered with. Initially Matt had involved Tom in a professional capacity – he’d been genuinely concerned to make sure their data was correct.
However, after only cursory investigation, it became clear this was not the only case of evidence tampering. Using Tom’s skills with technology, they were able to restore the missing video time codes from the server and piece together what had really happened. Damien Hunter was a lunatic, he was freely slaughtering the citizens of The Climbs. The evidence was there on the servers, but it was being covered up.