by Nathan Ward
Chapter 4: As Times Evolve
The ramp at the rear of the carrier came crashing down kicking up another subtle cloud of dust. Josh knew that nothing about this current situation was good. They all painstakingly watched with a sinking sense that this had to be the end all of them as a squad of UNA soldiers emerged from the vehicle, stomping down on the thick metal on route to the blazing land in which they had just come to a halt.
The soldiers were a group of no more than six, they rushed as quickly as they could to take up a surrounding circle position around Josh, Steph, Henry and Thomas who were surprisingly alert, still standing, held up by adrenaline and pure fear.
Thomas couldn’t help himself, he had to state the obvious to his friends - that these soldiers were very different to the ones they had fought against back east at the nuclear UNA facility.
“They’re different,” Thomas pointed out.
Josh was still analyzing each and every one of them, watching intently as he regarded them with a defiant glare. Mentally he was ready to take on any threat but physically he knew he wouldn’t have a chance, so instead he remained in his painfully upright stance and kept the painted face of “do not mess with me” firmly in place.
“Blue suits, that’s all. Same old underneath,” Josh replied.
Just as he had finished responding to Thomas, a beam of light caught his eye but this wasn’t a glare from the sun or a reflection from the chromed detailing of the military UNA carrier, it was a bright, artificial glow.
Josh stared on, under the spell of the light, his sights were fixed on to the helmet of one of the soldiers who was stood retaining his or her posture, completely un phased by the blistering heat. Josh continued to stare deep in to the blackness of the soldiers visor until he caught sight of the two glowing orbs, two pulsating balls of energy, almost like eyeballs meeting his own gaze. Josh had begun to wonder how wrong he was, there was a huge difference between these new UNA agents and those of old...
As the moment fell in to silence once again, with only the subtle sound of the stormy breeze whistling around their uncovered ears, the group waited fearfully. The tension had never been so high as they kept a hold of themselves locking their limbs, finding any means of keeping their bodies held upright while being opposed by what they once were, a mirror image of them when they were fit and well.
The silence was broken by the sudden sound of the vehicles passenger door being unlocked, followed by an unnerving high pitched creak as the door swung open.
A uniformed leg appeared from within the cabin and placed the tread of its boot in to the tarnished ground. All present turned to witness the arrival of this new member of the circle, a gloved hand reached for the top of the door and pulled their body from its slumber and into the dying light of the real world. This agent's body was of a thin physique, its uniform tightly wrapped around the prominent curvy features, you could almost hear the friction of the suit as the agent slowly moved towards Josh and his team.
The skies had turned; the sun had almost been completely covered by the darkened clouds. The minimalist rays met with the UNA agents’ glossy helmet, it was almost sparkling before Josh as they both faced off against one another.
The petite figure raised its hands and placed its fingers upon two buttons which after activation began to withdraw the helmet as an automated system, revealing the soft, lightly moist skin of a young woman. A sweeping draft caught her hair and blew it in to a short lived flail but the woman remained in eye contact with Josh.
Her lips were a deep wine red and her eyes as dark as the clouds suspended above.
Stephanie had begun to feel ever so slightly threatened and was ready to claw out her eyeballs but had to resist ,not knowing of what the consequences would be but presumably, death - they were still alive at this point though - which was always a positive sign when in contrast to mass murderers...
“Joshua Levett, Stephanie Levett, Henry Bowmaker and Thomas Watts. Your identities have been confirmed,” stated the female agent.
“I am Captain Williams, you’re all to come with us,” added the Captain.
“Tell me, how do you come up with these names? After all you’re just machinery, right?” asked Josh.
“Humans inspired our actions, it is only honourable to take their names. We allowed for them to join our ranks but you may have noticed that phase two has commenced and our units have been replenished with untiring, totally obedient mechanical counterparts,” responded the Captain, her presence had really thrown the four fighters off guard but they had to remember what she really was and look past the scarily, too real looking flesh.
“What makes them any different to you, what makes you superior? Do you feel like you have some form of consciousness under that cold plated skull?”Josh said angrily.
“Of course, I may be a puppet, but I am without strings. You have all been summoned by our great mind, the soul of our creation,” explained the Captain, and then as she finished her sentence her eyes begun to illuminate a bright piercing blue glow.
“WHY?” shouted Thomas.
“You don’t need to show us any compassion; we destroyed your facility, thwarted whatever you had planned. Just kill us and get it over with!” Josh yelled.
“We have been instructed to show compassion.”
The captain provocatively expressed an eerie smile and turned to look at each and every member of the group to make sure they saw the gesture.
“Leave that to us, you have NO RIGHT to imitate human emotion!” screamed Josh, and the tiniest spec of saliva had propelled itself on to the face of the Captain, who slowly rose her hand and wiped away the fluid, retaining her smile.
“Take them away, boys” she ordered, making a quick hand gesture towards the robotic soldiers circling Josh and the crew. Even though she was an android the way she moved and spoke seemed entirely human.
The six soldiers marched forward detaining their prisoners, clenching on to their shoulders and pulling them along the ground towards the rear of their vehicle.
“Mind the uniform!” Josh said in a sarcastic manor as he and his wife were shoved with force. The soldiers had a firm grip with one hand and wielded their rifles with the other, their strength could never be faulted, they were as the Captain said, never tiring - the ultimate form of military warfare.
Henry was the last to be detained, he watched over towards the back of the carrier as his friends were loaded in, and even though he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was any way to prevent this from happening.
What could he do to help his friends? That thought ran through his mind as a strong hand clenched on to him and abruptly shoved him face first into the dirt.
He nearly lost consciousness, he was already running on non existent energy without the knock to his head. The two soldiers lifted him from the ground and pulled him back to his feet as the Captain glared at her soldiers with an expression of disapproval.
“You must resist the temptation my friends, we need them alive,” the Captain explained.
The soldiers nodded in understanding and both repeated with a deep robotic voice to confirm, “Understood.”
As the soldiers were about to proceed with Henry, he began to struggle trying to shake himself loose from their grasp, but the more he tried the tighter their iron grip became until he thought the pressure would shatter his bones.
“Wait,” said Captain Williams.
She advanced until she was side by side with Henry, bending forward, so close to his face she could smell the fear steaming from his forehead.
“You struggle and you will kill yourself. I can see in to your soul, boy. I don’t even know if you’ll survive the journey back so do yourself a favour and quit resisting, now there’s a good lad.”
“If… only you could feel pain, I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction of death… just make you suffer until you couldn’t bear to live another day!”Henry said in defiance as fear shone plain in his eyes.
&nb
sp; “A very human strategy in war, is it not? Perhaps that is where we have been failing,” confirmed Captain Williams, adding “Release the boy.”
The two soldiers reluctantly let got of Henry, he rapidly fell to his knees and his body sunk like a rag doll.
“You have permission to do as you will,” stated Williams.
Henry began to grit his teeth, slowly raising his head to meet William's gaze, he had nothing left, nothing to fuel him now but pure hatred and the pump of adrenaline that had started to race around his body, taking over.
Henry sprung to his feet and swung a hard left hook, knocking Williams head ever so slightly in the opposite direction. She reverted her sight to Henry who had fallen to the ground in exhaustion, her right arm rose and her hand approached her face, she allowed for the print of her index finger to run across her artificial skin. She could feel where Henry had hit her, she glared down at the boys hand and noticed he had armed himself with a rusty knuckle duster, this would explain why a chunk of skin had disintegrated from her face, revealing a segment of her cold chrome skull.
Williams felt an electrical response in her mind that mimicked that of human anger and frustration - but she could not process this or understand its meaning, she just acted upon it, doing what the programming had ordered her to do, casting aside her command. Williams plunged her hand around Henry's neck and pulled him off the ground until his body dangled in the air, legs twitching and arms trying to flail.
She stared in to the boys eyes and watched as every emotion flowed through them, she could not understand them but she could enjoy the sight of seeing this person suffer. Realizing this error, she quickly dropped Henry, who broke out in a coughing fit as he fought for air.
Williams looked down and stared at the boy squirming on the ground like an insect.
“Stop!” Henry yelled in desperation as any shred of loyalty for his companions fell away under threat of death, “Let me live! Kill the others but let me live and I'll lead you to more humans!”
The Captain looked down at him blankly.
“I’m sorry,” stated Williams.
Henry looked up at her blankly, stunned at her remark. Then that look suddenly turned in to an expression of horror as he watched her lift her leg in the air, and with an almighty yell, Captain Williams dropped her boot to Henry's groin, she forced it so deep and so brutally the connection was almost enough to cause both testicles to burst.
The sound that escaped from his lips moments after was indescribable, a shriek that could be heard for miles upon miles, an animal screech of agony. Williams had now begun to smile, she glared at him like she was watching a television show that she was hooked on. She couldn’t get enough of it.
“I don't think you deserved the luxury of death, so I’ll wait,” responded Williams, “We’re done here.”
The two soldiers who had stood overlooking the scene had now begun to lift the wreck of a shattered body from the ground, one lifted him from his feet and the other by his arms. They quickly moved to the back of the carrier vehicle while their prisoner continued to shriek as every movement was pure agony and his cries became louder and louder, the soldiers carefully placed him inside at the very back of the cell but just before they slammed shut the rear ramp, one of the soldiers looked in at Josh, Steph and Thomas who were knelt against the sides, silenced by the severity of Henry's pain. The soldier recognized the consequences of pain in the human body, so before he departed sealing the rear ramp in to place, he slammed his mechanical fist in the boys throat. Then there was silence.
Chapter 5 – River of Souls
“We would play together in the crop fields, hours upon hours. My father didn’t know where we got the energy; we’d be out as soon as we woke and never made it in until the sun had begun to set. The sunsets back home were just incredible!”
Explained Sasha, opening up to Murdock and Enrique.
“I never thought they were that bad over here, either” said Murdock.
“You know what, I agree,” Sasha added, “In fact, some of the summers I spent here I saw even prettier sunsets, specially along the Burgh castle river. Ever been there?”
“Can’t say I have, I was never serving in this part of the country until it all... began. But we’ll have to go back there, at some point – see what’s left of it.
“You know that would be lovely, hell… I wonder what back home is like now. Do you think it’s happened everywhere?” she wondered.
“I’d put serious cash on it if I had some, otherwise... we’ve well and truly been deserted!” said Murdock with a subtle smirk, and then he asked, “How come you’ve got such a strong British accent?”
“Been living here since I was eleven, dad always preferred England to the states, but me and my sister knew he only came here for her…our mum that is, he was mad about her but she just fell out of love with him. Kind of feel sorry for them both, well.. I did, they’re gone now,” explained Sasha, as a look of sadness clouded her eyes briefly, but then it was gone as she kept herself together, which to Murdock only seemed to emphasise the typical strength of a survivor in these hard times. He put his arm around her shoulders as a gesture of comfort, just so she knew she wasn’t alone with the sharp pain of loss.
“I’m sorry to have brought it all back up, sometimes it helps to talk about it rather than keep it built up inside,” Murdock sympathized.
“I agree completely,” she met his gaze as she reminded him of a promise he had made, “You said you’d tell me your story?”
“I did, but not now…” said Murdock, containing his smirk and giving a subtle wink towards Sasha. She smiled and looked away across the barren fields.
“Mind if I ask, Captain?” spoke Enrique, which came as a surprise to Murdock.
“Not at all, mate - Go ahead!”
“What you said, about Joshes daughter - I choose to disbelieve it as something you would do.”
“Honestly, now… ask yourself, would he?” said Murdock, “A man who’s already thrown his life on the line to save a group of people he didn’t even know, a group of people who have become dear friends in such a short time, would he put himself first over the daughter of his friend?”
“No he wouldn’t and that’s a fact,” replied Sasha.
“I did not want to believe,” Enrique told them.
“But at the back of your mind you were forced to question it, you were good to not believe. I said it to get the response, to spark the fight, that’s all,” Murdock said honestly.
“And in doing so, you made Josh realise he was no longer fit to lead us, he’s played the hero but times change, this world is evolving fast – and so must we,” Sasha said in agreement.
“Josh perhaps needs to take this time to focus on himself, so he can later join us on the front line?” suggested Enrique.
“That I look forward to, but I can’t help but fear the route he’s taken will not end well. There are no odd in any of their favour, turning back was the most illogical thing I had ever heard… I simply don’t tolerate selfishness,” Murdock replied.
“What is done, is done… we can't afford to waste time on history, we have to spend it on now so we can shape a potentially better future. Come on,” Sasha said, and they continued their journey into the unknown mists of England.
The sunlight had slowly begun to perish and the temperature was falling, but not fast enough for anyone’s liking. The dark skies were fast chasing in as the dying day saw the light turning down to shadow and Murdock wasn’t impressed with a thought that crossed his mind, to head back in the direction of the storm - but he laughed it off, rubbing his throat at the same time, which has gotten ridiculously dry and sore.
It was then Enrique noticed that up ahead, there was an opening to what seemed to be an underground cavern, the surroundings had begun to make the three wonder if they were approaching a small town or city, as the environment was becoming very confined with an extremely noticeable lack of wasteland and instead a increase in plant li
fe. The oxygen they were inhaling even felt a whole deal cleaner than the stuff they had passed through earlier. It was as if they had stepped through a magical doorway and entered a new world without realising, now it suddenly felt like it used to feel on a normal English summers day, just without the rain but even so, there was plenty up there in the darkening skies visible in the distance.
Enrique carefully crept towards the dark pit, remaining alert and mindful of possible traps. Sasha kept her rifle close to her chest trying to assist Enrique while her vision continued to break into periods of blurs, the pressure of death was mounting on top of them all, but their strong will to survive kept them moving.
Murdock took the lead, passing by Sasha and Enrique and entering the dark abyss, the others followed, disappearing in to the darkness as the very last gasp of sun set sank behind them in the distance, killing the last shard of outdoor light and welcoming the darkness and creatures that lurked within it.
Murdock suddenly reemerged from the opening and attempted to activate his wrist computer to enable him to make radio contact, but just like Josh, his suit had also now exhausted its power source making distant communication impossible. With a look of disappointment and frustration, Murdock went back inside, following Sasha and Enrique down a damp, rocky path.
As they traipsed deep into the unknown, the tunnel wasn’t widening. In fact it seemed to get narrower as they progressed and the walls that encased them were lined with ridged clusters of dark rock, the walls were shimmering by the reflection of the fractions of light pulsating off the weapons that Sasha and Murdock were carrying. Each and every step they took deep inside the cavern caused the reflections to move and glisten, to leap and fall, as if a magical power lit the way – but they all knew there was nothing magical about the weaponry they carried, the weapons were their only hope of survival if faced with a threat, and that fear remained constant as they continued to make their way through the darkness.