by Adam Thielen
Taq closed his eyes, nudging the tears onto their voyage toward his ears. He rolled over onto his side, pulled his knees up, and began to sob.
“No!” he denied. “No, god dammit, no no no.”
Matthias put his hand on Taq’s arm. “What?” But he realized it could mean only one thing. He withdrew his hand and sat down beside Taq. “Tamra?”
“Yes,” Taq choked out.
Matthias sat in quiet contemplation while Taq mourned. The news streams started coverage of an initial offensive against Haven. Talking heads reported that an effort to bring down Haven using anonymous kamikaze drones was underway, citing unnamed sources. Crude computer simulations showing the method of attack were presented by retired homeland security officers from various regions. A banner along the bottom read ‘War on Haven’.
“Yes, Bob, they say they are confident the machinery keeping the fortress in the air will not withstand these bombs,” claimed one of the guests. “Without altitude, they lose their advantage and ability to mount a nuclear offensive.”
Matthias reclined onto his back and closed his eyes. When he opened them, time had passed. Taq was standing next to Kate’s slab, holding her hand again. His eyes were bright red. Matthias sat up and watched the news. It showed footage of explosions and drones and Haven.
“It appears,” the news anchor started, “that the drones were blown out of the sky before getting within range of the airship. The leader of this organization, a vampire calling herself Scarlett Makida, immediately released a statement. It reads, ‘Whoever is responsible for this attack may claim responsibility within one hour. If no corporation or state of any kind steps forward, we will be forced to retaliate indiscriminately.’”
The newscast cut to an interview with a military expert. “These were state of the art stealth drones with multiple detection and lock on countermeasures.” The display continued to show variations of these interviews and footage.
“How long ago was that?” Matthias asked, pointing at the screen.
“About a half hour ago,” Taq said flatly.
Matthias punched the floor hard, the tile caving in underneath his fist. “The corps are going to crumble, the world is going to get nuked, and I am stuck here powerless.”
“Maybe it’s for the best. The corps I mean. We have no power. They control everything and conspire in boardrooms to decide the fate of everyone. I don’t know anyone who would shed a tear,” argued Taq.
“I lived long before the collapse, and it wasn’t that much better. The masses had the illusion of power. This isn’t ideal, but I’ve also seen much worse,” countered Matthias. “Besides, no revolution based on some deus ex machina would last.”
Taq sighed, looking down at Kate. “Why won’t you wake up.” He looked at Matthias. “I don’t know what love is, but whatever this is, hurts.”
“You’ll know it’s love when ten years pass and you think you are tired of them, and then they go away, and it shatters you,” declared Matthias.
“That’s a long time to wait.” Taq turned back to the display and watched more talking heads, then the screen showed Haven again, as it did every thirty seconds. He turned back to Matthias.
“Do you really want on that thing?”
“More than anything.”
“I can get you on it.”
Matthias raised his eyebrows in puzzlement, then lowered them. “No you can’t.”
Before Taq could respond, a call came in on Matthias’s com. He answered it. “Yes. We are fine. I…had heard. It’s dead?” Matthias looked at Taq, who nodded. He had known Tamra was dead, but not that she had taken the vampire mage with her. “I see. Okay put him through. Yes. She’s in some sort of coma. Send it to her anyway. Why can’t some mages take it down.” Taq shook his head in response. “Hmm. I will let you know. Bye.”
“We can’t project spells that far,” explained Taq. “What did they want with Kate?”
“They want her to find computer system vulnerabilities on that ship. Sent her some schematics believed to be early drafts of a few sections of it,” answered Matthias.
“I will get you on that ship.”
“Even I know that’s suicide. Slips kill, right?”
“Not for me.”
“Right. Have you ever done it?”
“No, but I know I can.”
Matthias shook his head. “How?”
“I’ve moved myself physically in and out of the Ether. Stationary, momentary shifts. The problem isn’t capability, it’s energy. It’s like a fat guy trying to rock climb,” Taq explained.
“And falling to his death, taking anyone he tried to carry with him,” expounded Matthias.
“Right, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. He just needs a way to increase his strength and stamina temporarily,” Taq gestured toward the vampire.
Matthias thought about this for a moment then chuckled. “So you are going to take my blood, put me on a ship full of crazies, and expect me to take them down while drained?”
“When we get there, I will likely be useless. You can take my blood.”
“This is starting to sound like a perpetual motion machine. I realize turning works in reverse, but crazier things have happened. I just don’t think so.”
Taq started to speak, but this time his voice was broken and harsh. “I dragged Tamra into this. To save Kate, I was willing to use her. That decision led to her death. I owe her, and I think you do too.”
“Wait, why me?”
“You had Kate rope her into fighting the fiend. The first one.” Matthias opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Taq concluded, “We owe her.”
“Taq… what do we owe her?” roiled Matthias. “Revenge?”
“More than that,” he said. “She was a hero, and that’s what we have to be.”
“What about Kate? You are willing to just leave her behind?” questioned Matthias.
“I…have no choice.”
One of the wall displays went black, then came back on with large letters that said: ‘I WILL SAVE HER’.
“Drew?” Taq yelled.
The screen flashed to the word ‘YES’.
“What happened, how long will it take?”
The screen flashed back to the message: ‘I WILL SAVE HER’. Then it flashed to the word, ‘GO’. It flipped between these two screens every few seconds, refusing to acknowledge further questions.
Taq looked at Matthias. “You said you wanted on that ship. Yes, it’s risky, but we can either take that risk now, when it matters… Or we can wait here safely and hope millions of people aren’t wiped off the planet.”
“This is a shitty choice,” stated Matthias.
“But not that difficult, is it?” prodded Taq.
“Fuck it.” Matthias strapped his sword to his back and attached his holster to his belt. He pulled out a pocket knife and walked over to Taq, ushering him a few steps from Kate. “Listen to me,” he said sternly. “I am going to open a small hole in my jugular. I should heal before it becomes dangerous. Take as much as you can stomach. You will feel it when it’s too much. Stop. Otherwise you will throw it up. Understand?”
Taq nodded. “I will get you there, I promise.”
Matthias poked at the vein in his neck, then placed a finger over it and pocketed the knife. Taq moved his face close to the cut and opened his mouth. When Matthias removed his finger, blood spurted up at a steep angle into Taq’s nose. He stumbled backward choking.
“Jesus!” he exclaimed.
Matthias put his finger back over the hole, but slippery with blood, the fluid continued to leak. “Try again, hurry.”
“It’s in my fucking sinuses!” said Taq sputtering and blowing his nose, blood covering his upper lip.
“Come on,” said Matthias, annoyed.
Taq leaned forward again, cupping his mouth over Matthias’s finger. Matthias slipped his finger out and Taq sealed his lips around the cut, blood flowing into his mouth. He forced it down his throat, continuing to g
ulp as fast as possible. Repulsive at first, swallowing became easier with each second.
A sharp pain hit Taq in the gut. He immediately stopped sucking and pulled back, putting a hand on the cut. He cast a minor spell pulling the skin together like stitching. Matthias’s eyes drooped and his legs wobbled slightly. Taq held him steady.
After a minute of waiting, the mage’s pupils widened, while thick red veins burrowed their way toward his iris. He started spontaneously sweating. His vision sharpened and he felt like everything was moving in slow motion. Taq’s body was on fire and he started fidgeting. Matthias’s weakness seemed to partially pass as he stiffened his legs.
Taq grabbed onto Matthias’s arms tightly, staring wildly into his eyes, as vampire blood and adrenaline coursed through his veins. “YOU MAKE THEM PAY MATTHIAS!”
Matthias flinched his head backward at the sound. “Why are we yelling?”
“AND YOU LET THAT BITCH KNOW, WHEN SHE’S LAYING ON THE GROUND CHOKING ON HER OWN BLOOD, THAT TAQ, KATE, AND TAMRA SEND THEIR FUCKING REGARDS!”
“Shit, calm-,” Matthias was cut off as the room zoomed out impossibly in all directions, as if falling out of the world. Taq was the only thing stationary, still holding onto him, his eyes clenched shut. Blackness enveloped them, as did the sensation of traveling in a tube. Sparks of light flew past Matthias’s face, and his words turned into a scream that made no sound. Sparks were soon replaced with giant cracks in the blackness, revealing the facade. He saw clouds in the sky during one flash. Then the ground below him in another. Then, he saw Haven. As soon as that crack sealed, a new room flew at him from all directions until he was once again standing on solid ground.
Taq’s grip loosened and he began to fall backward. Matthias caught his shirt and lowered him gently. He looked around and saw that they were in a lavatory with showers. He could hear a hum that indicated heavy machinery. Matthias could not be sure where he was. He leaned down and felt Taq’s breath on his cheek. “Thank god,” he said.
Matthias dragged Taq into one of the shower stalls and propped him up against the wall. He crouched down and said, “You did your part, now it’s my turn.” Matthias placed his mouth on Taq’s neck and expertly drew blood. He drank slowly, a little bit at a time, while observing Taq’s heart rate and breathing. Drinking any more than about a liter could trigger hemorrhagic shock, but it was more than enough for Matthias to recover.
He stood up and leaned against the wall as the new blood absorbed into his system. Euphoria washed over him, then faded. He felt Taq’s pain for Tamra, his anguish over Kate, and his fear of being a prisoner to the system. Matthias understood a little about how casting worked and saw glimpses of what the dream world had been like. He left the stall and closed the curtain.
With his katana in one hand and pistol in the other, he slid open the lavatory door and stepped into a metal corridor. Rivets lined the seams of metal walls that were slightly rounded at the floor and ceiling. He could see the recessed doorways in both directions, but he heard no men: the humming was just too loud.
With no idea where to go, he turned right from the lavatory door and stalked down the corridor to an open hatch on his left. Once close, he heard footsteps. He stepped inside. A man’s back was turned. A vampire, Matthias noted. He wore military fatigues. Matthias closed the door behind him, and the vampire turned around startled.
Matthias spoke first, “I was hoping you could tell me where to find the uh… control room? Just wherever you keep the controls for this ship.”
The man stared at Matthias’s blade, deliberating. His decision, unarmed, was to leap at the intruder. Matthias stepped aside and sliced the man’s torso open with lightning speed. The soldier fell forward, writhing in pain. Matthias held him down and tore into his jugular, drinking some of the vampire’s blood. It was disgusting and burned his throat. He stood up and coughed uncontrollably, gagging several times. The room spun for a few seconds before coming to rest. He concentrated. Though mildly poisonous, the blood connected him to the other vampire for a moment, allowing him to understand the ship a bit better. He knew the general direction and level the bridge was located on, and he saw the face of Scarlett again.
Matthias also knew that there was a skeleton crew staffing the vessel. He continued stalking through the corridors, picking off the soldiers one at a time. As he killed them, a nagging thought would not go away; perhaps he should feel bad for these men and try to subdue or incapacitate them. If there was once a part of him that would object to the slaughter, it must now be looking the other way. He was inexplicably angry at this convention of night stalkers. Matthias didn’t really care that much about Koch, and Frank made his decision. Even Tamra wasn’t directly their fault. And still, Matthias hated Haven. Was he jealous of their pride, of their power? Or was it simply the gall to appear from thin air and expect obedience from people who have lived a minimal existence. He didn’t know. Perhaps he was just angry and Haven would be his outlet for release.
As he rounded a corner, an alarm sounded. Matthias had been discovered. He ran toward a large double door that he knew must be the bridge. It wouldn’t budge. Men appeared at the far intersection. Using their corridor as cover, they fired at Matthias with automatic weapons. Matthias fired back with his handgun and backtracked to the previous intersection, disappearing down another hall. He felt a sting in his back. He had been hit, but it had not penetrated his longcoat. “Need some fresh air,” he thought.
He sprinted through the halls. A soldier standing at an intersection faced the other direction. Matthias’s footfalls, while not silent, were quiet enough to blend in with the background noise. He sliced the soldier’s head off without slowing. He came to metal stairs, vaulted up them, and opened the hatch. A moment later, the last two Haven soldiers chasing him stopped at the stairs and stared up and out of the hatch deliberating whether or not they should chase him further or wait.
Matthias had opened the hatch and run back to hide. He ambushed them from behind a stack of barrels, shooting both of them before they could turn. He slinked along the wall facing the stairs, trying to listen over the hum and alarm for any additional pursuers. He peeked around the corner of the corridor and saw no one.
Matthias sheathed his sword and picked the assault rifle off one of the men, noticing a grenade hanging off his vest. He grabbed it and went through the hatch. It led to a small room with another door on the other side. “An airlock,” thought Matthias. He left the first hatch ajar and opened the second. It took all his strength to pull it inward, wind rushing to escape the vessel. He held it open until the wind stopped, depressurizing the inside of the fortress.
The second hatch led outdoors onto the flight deck and roof of the massive structure. It was recessed under the plane of the deck, with a second set of stairs leading to open air. Matthias slowly ascended, scanning slowly for possible soldiers waiting for him on the roof. He saw none. The deck had several advanced jet fighters, two helicopters, and a few ground vehicles. Each corner had a small raised bunker, and the stairs down were covered by a metal canopy.
It was night now, and the stars shone clearly at this altitude. Matthias felt like a kid in a space exhibit. The moon was almost full, and the deck was lined with auto-phorescent panels, providing illumination for the exterior.
Matthias walked along the roof toward one of the rotaries. He stopped in his tracks as the sound of fine motors spinning at high velocity filled his ears. Then the sound of metal sliding against metal. In his peripheral he saw a cylinder raise from the deck. It contained optics and barrels. The vampire darted to the side as the turret started firing. He tried shooting as he ran, but the turret was unaffected. He realized he could effectively outmaneuver its primitive motion tracking, but also knew it would also be a waste of his energy.
A second turret popped out of the ground and started firing. Then a third. Matthias ran for the jets, eventually finding a spot with cover from all three lines of fire. He carefully climbed onto the wing of one of the
jets and surveyed the scene. He saw four large rotator shafts, one in each corner. “Those must be keeping this thing in the air,” he concluded.
* * *
When the alarm sounded, Makida was sipping on a blood pack, watching herself on the news. Only three men and herself occupied the bridge. She stood up and studied the security cameras.
“Someone tell me what’s going on,” she ordered.
“One of the men reported an intruder. Nothing else after that, but the automated defenses topside have been triggered,” the security officer reported. “Switching to deck cameras.”
The officer panned cameras around, looking for the intruder. Matthias poked his head up to look around from behind a jet’s cockpit. The camera locked on and zoomed in.
“Is that it?” Scarlett scoffed. “Who is it?”
“Still looking.” Then a moment later. “Still only him. Scanning for any shots to use for facial recognition.”
“Get a few of the men up there to deal with him,” she ordered.
The officer opened the intercom channel. “All soldiers report in now and await assignment.”
“Williams reporting,” came the first voice.
Several moments passed in silence, until it became obvious that no one else would be reporting for duty.
“Seems we have a problem,” Scarlett said.
“Fay-Rec says it is Matthias Trent. Noxcorp response agent,” informed the officer.
“Frank’s pal,” started Makida. “I want eyes on him at all times. Feed me his movements over com and tell Williams to meet me at the deck hatch.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If I am not back in time, proceed with the launch.”
“Understood, sir.”
* * *
The minds connected by the machine formed a web of connected dots spanning much of the planet. As the world turned, the connections changed. Areas of activity shifted, following the night sky. Parts of the world became dead zones.