Utopia: A Dark Thriller: Complete Edition

by Adam Steel

  A warm, forked tongue licked her body. It was tasting and scenting what she was. It wasn’t wet and it flicked over her terrified flesh.

  She felt the heat when it opened its mouth and she knew that death was close.

  The fangs bit deep into her chest, injecting the burning-hot venom. Her pain was unbearable and searing and her body went rigid with shock.

  She was totally paralysed.

  She was conscious, but unable to move a muscle, when the snake swallowed her whole.”

  Ellie awoke abruptly and struggled to free herself from the blanket that had tangled itself around her body. The nightmare had been frighteningly real. She sat bolt upright. She had only been asleep for an hour. Beside her, Jon Li awoke and moaned.

  ‘Ell? What…what is it?’ he grumbled.

  ‘Bad dreams,’ she whispered and lay back next to him.

  She put her hand on his smooth belly and turned her head to face him.

  ‘I’m scared Jon.’

  He stoked her hand and said, ‘I know, me too.’

  ‘We could just run for it. We could sneak out now. We could find a way out if we tried,’ she offered hopefully.

  ‘And go where?’ he asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Anywhere. Maybe we could get to the coast, get a boat and cross the sea or something,’ Ellie said in a panicky voice.

  He leaned over her and stoked her hair.

  ‘You know that won’t work, Ell. We’d never get out of Utopia on a boat even if we could find one, which I doubt. There is nowhere else to go, besides we can’t leave here like this. What about Max and Abigail, and the others?’ he said.

  ‘If we go on that mission, Jon, we could die, or they could catch us, you know what they are going to do with us don’t you?’ she said, and cried softly into his chest.

  He stroked her head and held her close to his chest.

  ‘We can’t let the Masons carry on with their plan. We have to go through with this. We have to Ell, or how are we going to start again anywhere: knowing what we both know. We can’t run from here,’ he said in a hushed voice.

  She looked into his eyes and she knew that he was right. She wouldn’t able to live with herself.

  ‘You’re right. We can’t, but I’m not sure we can do this,’ she pleaded.

  Jon Li nodded. He looked deeply concerned as he considered a response.

  ‘Even if he didn’t ask us, you know we have to try and do something. If we fail, millions of people will die. We can’t sit back and do nothing. We won’t be alone in this. The only concern is that if we can’t do it, we could all die for nothing. But whatever happens, we must destroy Genie. That’s all that matters now,’ he said, with a sense of finality.

  She sat back thinking. She looked at him and felt a surge of pride. He was battered and bruised and his chest was covered in cuts and scars, yet he was ready to continue until the end.

  She ran her fingers across his chest. If he lives through this, he’s going to need some extensive plastic surgery. At least I can do that for him, she thought. It got her thinking about her old job in Plastic Paradise.

  He looked puzzled when he caught the strange gleam in her eye.

  ‘Jon,’ she whispered.

  ‘I have an idea.’

  Chapter 43: End of the Road

  The Scrapper: Union City

  Max heaved the last can of gas up the tunnel into The Scrapper. He mopped the sweat from his brow. He had struggled with the fuel cans: walking back and forth with them through the tunnels for hours. It had made him feel useful. They were not scheduled to leave until early evening, but he had wanted to keep busy. Unlike the others, Max had nobody left to discuss things with: nobody left to say goodbye to. He had been working alongside Rust on their method of transportation, which would take them down to the reactor.

  He had taken several trips back to the Store House for more gas, despite the frenzied protests of the Keeper.

  “You people can’t keep coming in here!” the Keeper had exclaimed. “I’ve had you people sneaking in here. Sneaking in last night, and taking my things! What about my ledger?” the Keeper had cried.

  Max had assured him that they would be bringing all the stuff back, or at least our ghosts would, he had thought.

  Things were coming together for Max and he was glad. He wanted out of Drago’s control. He wanted his freedom, ‘real’ freedom. He thought that Drago’s plan was very straightforward. Get to the Genie plant. Blow big hole in tunnel. Kill anything that gets in the way. Blow the fucking reactor to hell. Get the fuck out. Yep, I like that, he thought. He liked things straightforward. He reckoned he knew where he was with straightforward. He had his own secret name for the mission. He called it Operation Payback. His attention turned to the couple who were walking slowly towards him.

  It was Jon Li and Ellie.

  He thought that Jon Li looked very pale and that he was struggling to walk, although he looked better than the last time he had seen him. Evening was drawing in and Ellie and Jon Li had waited until the last few minutes before they had arrived, but they were still the first. Here comes the Cavalry, Max thought, sarcastically. Ready for Operation Payback. Max caught Ellie’s wave and Jon Li’s nod before they both stopped and stood awkwardly. Fuckin' amateurs, he thought, and nodded in acknowledgment.

  Ellie pressed the question that had been bothering her all day.

  ‘Max, Uhm. How are we getting to Genie? We’ll need some transportation,’ she asked shyly.

  Max snorted and gestured them to enter The Scrapper.

  ‘Go and see for yourselves,’ he replied.

  The three of them entered, with Max dragging along the final can of gas behind him. The Forge lay cold and unlit. Rust (and his partner Jeevo) were making final adjustments to a large truck. It had been fixed up for the mission and Rust was putting the finishing touches to their creation.

  Jeevo, who was an intelligent man in his late thirties, was Rust’s best friend. They were inseparable. Together they were Union City’s finest mechanics. The truck was their pride and joy. Max begrudgingly admired Rust and Jeevo’s skilled work to adapt the old, 4 x 4 truck. Jeevo and Rust had built their truck from the shell of a large, black truck, which the Dustmen had high-jacked from an unfortunate refugee of Eden.

  They had welded a cover over the flatbed and reinforced it with roll bars. They had also welded some sheets of metal on the sides as armour. The sheets had come from elevator steps. They were shiny and criss-crossed with a pattern. Each one had been riveted in place to cover the sides and back of the truck. The back section folded down like a ramp to allow a fast loading, or unloading. Custom-built, bull-bars had been bolted to the front and back bumpers. Steel mesh had been attached to the outside of the cab side windows and windscreen leaving a small viewing area for the driver. They had made harnesses from reclaimed seat-belts and had attached them to the inside walls of the back of the truck. The section between the drivers cab and the flatbed had been cut out, and replaced with a metal grill, so that the passengers could talk to the driver. They had also cut a small section out of the back of the truck and replaced it with weld mesh so that they could see out of it.

  Max hauled up the final can of gas to Rust who was filling up the tank.

  ‘Nice fuckin' wheels!’ a hearty voice sounded from behind them.

  They turned to see Irish and Red entering The Scrapper. Irish had the pack full of weapons slung across his back.

  ‘Irish…made it then?…Thought you might have chickened out,’ Rust jested.

  ‘Naww. I was busy with the girls. They’re going to have to do without me for a day or two. So I gave 'em something to remember me by,’ Irish laughed. ‘So is the truck ready to go or what?’ he quipped.

  Max watched Jeevo lift the bonnet of the truck and make some final adjustments. An oily rag flew out of the engine space and he heard Jeevo banging on something metal under the bonnet. Jeevo started up the engine with the bonnet still up. It was very loud.

  I
rish looked impressed.

  Jeevo got out and went around to where Rust was peering into the engine compartment. They were shouting at each other over the engine noise.

  ‘Carb sounds rich…don’t make any sudden starts…might stall,’ Jeevo instructed.

  ‘The extra battery should give it a boost. Hope so, or it’s gonna be a bitch gettin' it started again,’ Rust shouted.

  Jeevo slammed the bonnet shut, missing Rusts fingers by inches.

  ‘It’s ready…Get the stuff loaded. Drago will be here any minute,’ Jeevo ordered.

  Rust shut the engine: feeling satisfied.

  Jeevo was checking the wheels, when Red walked slowly past Max and grinned, before climbing into the passenger seat. Max smiled insincerely and walked around to the back of the truck to the loading ramp.

  There’s something fuckin' weird about that guy…can’t quite put my finger on it,’ Max thought and the hairs on the backs of his arms bristled.

  Irish was already in the truck, securing his arsenal into one of the harnesses in the back.

  ‘Hey! Soldier-Boy. You ready to blow some shit up today?’ Irish joked and slapped his massive hand into Max’s.

  ‘Sure. Today’s my birthday,’ Max joked.

  Irish removed the fire axe (which had been strapped over one shoulder) and stuffed it behind his rucksack and then he sat down by the driver’s seat.

  Max turned when he heard a familiar voice.

  ‘Ready to be a Hero Soldier-Boy?’ came Drago’s voice.

  Drago, Lucian and Abigail were walking towards him. Abigail was holding tightly onto Lucian’s arm, but when she saw Ellie, she let go and went to talk to her.

  ‘Holidays over,’ Max jibed back at Drago.

  Max and Drago weighed each other up and then Drago grinned, bit the end of a new cigar, and spat it out. Lucian used his Zippo to ignite the cigar. Drago took a long breath in: holding the cigar between his teeth.

  ‘Sure is – Soldier Boy.’

  Drago took several large draws on the cigar, and said to Max. ‘Got everything you need – Soldier Boy?’

  Max met his gaze.

  ‘I got enough,’ he answered sharply.

  ‘Get in,’ Drago ordered.

  Max climbed into the truck, sat down on the floor with his back against the vibrating metal, and eyed the back of Red’s head through the weld mesh. He placed his shotgun across his lap and watched from the truck as Lucian and Drago pulled Jon Li to one side.

  Abigail and Ellie were looking at something in Ellie’s hand.

  ‘I have something for you. For luck,’ Abigail said, opening out a small piece of folded cloth in Ellie’s hand.

  ‘What is it?’ she said, sounding surprised.

  Inside the folded cloth was a talisman. It was a simple disk with a chain attached and it bore Chinese script which had been painted by hand.

  ‘What does it mean?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘It means hope,’ Abigail replied. ‘Put it on.’

  Ellie put it around her neck, and touched it gently.

  ‘Thanks. Thanks for everything. You know…all the stuff with Jon Li,’ she said in a faltering voice.

  ‘Bring my Lucian back. That’s all I ask,’ Abigail said sounding choked.

  Ellie nodded and walked towards the truck. She looked back at Jon Li who was shaking hands with Drago and Lucian. It looked odd to her. Here was a man in a tattered suit, shaking hands with two men who looked like gunslingers. Then she climbed in the truck and sat down next to Max. Jon Li followed her in, and sat down next to her and they smiled nervously at each other.

  Ellie watched Abigail and Lucian. They were kissing each other passionately. Ellie understood her fear that Lucian may die on the mission. Lucian held Abigail’s pretty face in his strong hands and wiped the tears from her eyes with his rough thumbs.

  ‘Don’t cry babe,’ he said softly.

  ‘Lucian. Lucian,’ Abigail sobbed.

  ‘It’s okay babe. I’ll come back. I promise. I ain’t done yet,’ Lucian reassured.

  ‘You’d better,’ Abigail sobbed.

  Lucian kissed her hard on the lips and smeared her red lipstick. She tried to smile at him.

  Red leaned out the window of the truck.

  ‘Let’s go already! You’re making me sick!’ he said.

  Abigail scowled back at him and Drago took her arm and pulled her to one side.

  ‘Sorry Miss Winters, but its time he went,’ Drago said firmly.

  Lucian looked at Drago and their eyes shared a moment of sadness before Lucian climbed into the back of the truck, and sat down opposite Jon Li. Abigail was standing near the truck, crying. Lucian was carrying a curl of barbed wire, which hung from a piece of rope. He slung it onto Irish’s pile of equipment, which was taking up the space between himself and Irish. He un-strapped his weapon, and added his sawn off shotgun to the pile.

  Drago stood at the back of the truck with Jeevo and Abigail and Rust went around the truck and climbed in the driver’s side. Jeevo pushed up the trucks ramp, and shut them in. He could see Ellie’s worried face through the grill.

  Jeevo and Abigail were pulling a large sheet of metal away from the tunnel entrance that Max and Irish had blasted out the day before.

  Daylight streamed down the tunnel.

  Drago banged hard on the back door of the truck.

  ‘Go get 'em!’ Drago shouted: his voice sounded choked.

  Rust re-started the engine and pushed the truck in gear. It jumped forwards. Drago, Abigail and Jeevo, watched the truck drive up the incline that led out of the tunnel and onto the surface of The Wastelands. Lucian’s fingers gripped the weld-mesh as he watched Abigail’s pretty face grow smaller and smaller, until it disappeared into the darkness. He wondered if he would ever see her again.

  They emerged into daylight. There was little point in them leaving at night. They would have been forced to use the trucks headlights to navigate the devastated landscape which would have given them away. They had timed the journey so that they would arrive near the Genie complex when it was dark. It would give them the best chance of sneaking inside. They also knew that there was little point in trying to disguise the truck, because if they were intercepted by TALOS, then it would be a shoot-out. Until they were either killed, or escaped.

  ‘Here we go!’ yelled Rust, as he ploughed the truck onwards through the wreckage. Rust was clearly having the time of his life.

  The rest of them managed a half-hearted cheer.

  Red tapped Rust on the shoulder.

  ‘Hey. You actually know where you’re going?’ Red said.

  Rust screwed up his face.

  ‘Sort of. We’re not going right to the reactor. We’re going to get above one of the tunnels they’re using and enter that way.’

  Rust ruffled one hand down the driver’s seat and pulled out an ancient, badly creased roadmap which he then passed to Ellie. It had a big red “X” labelled on it over the location of the South Downs.

  ‘You’ll have to compare that to the Genie blueprints and try and pin-point where the tunnel is from the surface,’ he instructed her.

  Ellie was already lost in the tattered papers.

  The truck picked its way across the wasted city until it reached the outskirts. Rust seemed to know where he was going, but the journey wasn’t a smooth one. Max felt the vibration of the wheels as the truck drove over rubble and he brooded over the forthcoming mission and thought about the consequences.

  They really don’t get it. When everything goes to shit – then they’ll get it,’ he thought. They don’t have a clue – not a fuckin' clue what war is really like. They don’t know what its like to see the kind of carnage that gets your mates blown to bits, or shot through the guts. Still can’t get rid of the memory of that feeling on my skin when one of my mates bought it and half his scalp landed on my arm. I think I can still feel that hot, dripping feeling and I can picture his blonde, blood-soaked hair sitting on my arm like a wig. He looked across at Ellie
as he continued to muse about the mission. Ellie’s so naïve – not like the other girl, What’s-her-name – clever – she’s got it…knows what we’re walking into – Lucian knows it too, and that’s why she’s not going along. He ain’t about to risk her getting blown away.

  Irish tried to lighten the sombre mood in the truck.

  ‘So, what’s everyone doing after this? Any grand plans?’ he said.

  For a few moments there was silence in the truck. It was obvious to everyone that none of them actually thought they were ever coming back. Irish broke up the silence again.

  ‘Well, when I get back to Union, I’m gonna screw every bitch in The Sump who’s still breathing. Breed me’self an army,’ he commented.

  Nobody replied.

  Ellie squeezed Jon Li’s hand and felt like crying when she thought of what they would do after. She thought about the night before instead when they had made love in the flickering candlelight of their cave dwelling. Despite the filth and the pain, it had been passionate and unreserved. Their love had been sealed.

  She looked into his eyes and saw his love for her. He was sweating and he looked pale and weak: his broken nose had swollen up to twice its size: his clothes were bloodied and torn and he had tied his shirt across his chest with some pieces of string.

  Jon Li rubbed his chest, and winced. Lucian looked at him and frowned.

  Lucian hadn’t spoken since they got on the truck. He was thinking of his Abigail, and wondering if he would ever get to make love to her again. They had made the most of their last night together. He hated the idea that she was going back to Coney City and the risks she would be taking, but he hated himself more for what he was planning to do. He took out the coil of barbed wire from the pack on the backseat and slowly wound it around his fist: droplets of scarlet blood fell as the spikes bit into his skin. He seemed to be relishing the pain as though he were punishing himself.

  Ellie and Jon Li watched in silent horror when Lucian coiled the painful barbs around his fist. Grim determination was etched across his face.