Metal and Ash (Apex Trilogy)

by Jake Bible

  “And if I beat you?”

  “You can talk about Masters,” Bisby responded. “Or whatever the fuck.”

  “You want to hear about how Masters likes to play with my-?’

  “Fuck no!” Bisby shouted. “Only if you win! Which you won’t!”

  “We’ll see about that,” Harlow said as she started her mech into a trot and then a run then a sprint.

  Bisby was right on her heels.

  “You guys are fucked up,” Jethro said. “Good luck.”

  ***

  The canon fire came hard and fast.

  Harlow, with her newly designed mech, leapt into the air. Jay had assured her that if she could do it in real life her mech could do it in the wasteland. She had highly doubted his claim since she was easily the fastest and most agile of the mech pilots.

  But as her mech spun in the air, its guns blazing, she had to smile. Jay had come through. The Cans struggled to get a bead on her and she landed directly in front of the line. She took a hit to her left leg, but it didn’t shut her down. With a firm kick she sent one Can flying back as she jammed her 50mm into the cockpit of another. The rapid fire shredded the pilot inside.

  Harlow smiled. They’d been warned that the Canadian mechs could self-repair. But all the repair work in the world made no difference if the pilot inside was a puddle of blood and flesh.

  Harlow spun about and landed a solid elbow into the next mech. She grabbed it by its shoulder as it stumbled back and swept the legs out from under it. The rookie pilot inside didn’t have the presence of mind to stop shooting so Harlow angled the mech’s cannon at the other mechs next to it. Five mechs started to dance and shudder as heavy caliber rounds tore into their BC exoskeletons.

  Harlow was impressed by the way the mechs instantly repaired, but she didn’t really care. She lifted the downed mech up and threw it into the others then sprang into the air once again, piloting her mech above the cannon fire and landing in the middle of the line.

  The CMPs thought their numbers were superior. They didn’t have a clue that their numbers were their downfall.

  ***

  “I love you Jay!” Bisby roared as he charged the line of Cans. The head mechanic had installed a massive armored plate where One Arm’s missing arm would have been. Bisby lowered his shoulder, letting the armored plate take the impacts of the canon fire as he rushed towards the line that Harlow was already busy decimating.

  A blast shook Bisby, but he recovered quickly, dove, rolled and came up swinging. One reason Bisby had insisted on One Arm as his mech was because the mech was built as a brawler. The arm the mech did have was nearly twice the thickness of other mechs’ arms and had a striking power that wasn’t matched in the wasteland.

  Bisby used that arm like a piston of death as he punched hole after hole in the cockpits of the Cans. Men and women screamed as they were flattened and pulverized. Each time he withdrew his fist he had to shake it off, sending bone and blood splattering across the wasteland dirt. As he fought his way down the line, his mech taking hit after hit from canon fire, he left a wake of gore.

  The grin on his face couldn’t get wider without ripping his cheeks apart.

  ***

  “Do we get in the fight?” Campbell asked as she watched the battle unfold.

  “Are you fucking kidding?” Specialist Sol said, keeping the Hybrid at a safe distance. “We’re here for backup, not battle. There’s no way we get in the middle of that.”

  “If they get in trouble we’ll move in,” Lt. Murphy said. “On foot. Not in this tin can.”

  “Fuck yeah!” Specialist Grendetti shouted. “That’s how we fuck shit up!”

  He got up from his seat and headed to the equipment, ready to hand out rocket launchers and grenades when the time came.

  LaFrance couldn’t help but laugh. “The stories about you people are true,” he said. “You all have some insane death wish.”

  “You got that right,” Specialist Kafar grinned. “We wish death on any motherfuckers that get in our way.”

  “Damn right,” Specialist Sol nodded.

  ***

  “Split up!” CMP Esther shouted into the com as she ducked a swing by Harlow’s mech. She tumbled back and came up on her feet, her mech ready, but Harlow had moved on to the next machine. “Stop standing in a fucking line! She’ll just keep chopping us down! SURROUND THAT BITCH!”

  ***

  “Excuse me?” Harlow laughed. “Who you calling a bitch, cunt?”

  Harlow turned from the mech she was busy yanking its arms from and focused on CMP Esther’s mech.

  “I’m gonna make you apologize for that,” Harlow growled.

  She dove at the mech’s legs, but CMP Esther leapt into the air, letting Harlow roll below her. Harlow was up on her feet instantly and spun about, landing a solid kick to the back of CMP Esther’s mech, knocking it onto its knees. Harlow came in for the kill, but two mini-guns formed at the back of the Can and opened fire.

  Harlow’s mech stumbled back as it took the heavy rounds dead on. She was able to turn to the side, letting some of the fire fly by, but claxons blared in her cockpit as systems were hit.

  “Fuck you,” Harlow said as she flipped her mech, did a double backspring and came up with RPGs firing. The rockets shot from her shoulders and CMP Esther threw her mech flat, letting the projectiles fly past her.

  Two of the four RPGs found unfortunate targets and BC went flying across the wasteland in a fiery shower of metal and flame.

  Harlow started flipping switches and shifting power to damaged systems. She knew she didn’t have too much longer before her mech went down so she planned on making the best of what time she did have.

  ***

  “Right squad!” CMP Esther shouted. “Split and go! Proceed to the Stronghold! We’ll keep the bastards occupied here!”

  ***

  Bisby had a mech by the leg and he lifted it into the air when another mech tackled him about the waist. Then another piled on. And another. Bisby found himself at the bottom of a mech pile and he could see face to face with one of the CMPs.

  He lifted his middle finger and grinned. “Eat me, you fucking poser twat!”

  The closest mech shoved a gun towards Bisby’s cockpit.

  “Give me control,” a quiet, angry voice said. “I can handle this.”

  “No,” Bisby growled at One Arm. “I’m the fucking pilot.”

  “You’re about to be a dead pilot,” One Arm warned. “You have less than two seconds. GIVE ME CONTROL!”

  Bisby cringed at the pain that shot through his head. He wanted to fight the AI, but he knew the thing was right.

  “Fine!” Bisby replied. “Take it!”

  One Arm’s consciousness came forward and Bisby relinquished control. One Arm opened the cockpit just as the Can fired its gun. The cockpit hatch slammed into the gun and knocked it aside sending the blast into one of its teammates. Bisby felt the heat from the blast and brought his arm up to shield his face. He could smell his uniform burning and he wished he had that second arm to pat out the flames that had erupted on his chest.

  “Fucking hell,” he swore. “I thought you were going to get me out of this alive!”

  “You are, Pilot Bisby,” One Arm said. “Are you afraid of a little fire?”

  One Arm grabbed the closest mech and wrenched its arm off. Then he grabbed the next in the pile and did the same. The CMPs quickly realized they were in no position to fend of the attack and they all scrambled off the pile, trying to put some distance between themselves and the machine they couldn’t stop.

  ***

  “These better work!” Harlow shouted, knowing at least Jethro was listening. She got herself a little space from the circling mechs and reached to her mech’s back with both hands. Two massive blades slid clear of their harnesses and she couldn’t help but smile. “Now you fucks see what I can really do.”

  The Cans all froze. None had ever seen anything like Harlow’s mech. They had been trained in m
ech to mech combat and full weapons, but none had been prepared for battle with a mech wielding what looked like two katanas each as long as a transport.

  Harlow didn’t hesitate.

  The first strike took off the left leg of the closest mech, slicing through the BC like it was ten year old deader flesh and not high-tech bioorganic metal. The mech toppled to the side and Harlow came down with the other blade, splitting the cockpit in half.

  Before that mech hit the ground she had already spun about, dropped to one knee and pierced the next closest mech’s cockpit with a direct thrust. The blade slid back out with blood dripping from its tip and Harlow flicked the fluid off with a twist of her mech wrist.

  A blow hit her in the shoulder and her mech shuddered as she dipped to the ground, but she rolled with the impact and swung out with her legs, knocking the attacking mech back. She flipped up onto her feet, both blades slicing through the air above her as she came upright.

  Hunks of BC flew through the air, the light shining off the perfectly smooth surface. Harlow kept her momentum going and lunged at the next two mechs, her blades coming down in violent arcs. Both mechs were split down the middle and Harlow barely had time to register the agony and terror on the faces of the mech pilots before she ducked into a roll and sped past them.

  With a twist and a leap she was up on her feet, one blade held above her and the other held out in front, across her chest, ready to strike or defend as needed.

  ***

  One Arm shoved a Can’s arm through its own cockpit before turning and firing its 50mms at the mechs that came at its back. The rounds tore through the mechs, but the BC repaired itself instantly, infuriating the AI.

  “YOU WILL ALL DIE!” One Arm roared as it leapt at the mechs.

  The raging machine slammed one mech down to the earth with its fist, nearly crushing the Can’s entire upper half as it was shoved into the dirt. One Arm leapfrogged that mech, its legs kicking out and catching two Cans across the shoulders, spinning them about. As One Arm landed it punched its fist through the small of the back of one Can then twisted to the side, sending the punctured mech crashing against the other.

  An RPG exploded next to One Arm and the enraged battle mech turned, its 50mm firing at full blast. Two more RPGs sped towards it and One Arm was able to take one out, but the other connected and detonated against its left thigh, shattering the leg and sending the mech toppling to the ground.

  ***

  “Oh, fuck!” Specialist Sol called out. “Bisby is down!”

  “Lock and load, people!” Lt. Murphy ordered. “We’ve got a mech pilot to rescue!”

  Forty-Four

  “Evacuate the coastline!” Blue Masterson ordered. “We have ships incoming!”

  “Where the fuck is Beth!” Melissa called out as she hurried through the crowd of Americans that were scrambling to get mag-skiffs loaded with supplies and wounded.

  “Bretton!” Colonel Masterson shouted. “I need you to be repairing skiffs and helping us get the fuck out of here! Forget about Laughlin and get you ass in gear!”

  “Beth can manipulate BC better than me,” Melissa countered. “I need to find her.”

  The colonel started to respond then went silent as he watched Desmond shove through the crowd with a limp Beth Laughlin in his arms.

  “What the holy fuck?” Blue exclaimed.

  “She collapsed,” Desmond said as he focused on Melissa. “Just like in the Dead Zone.”

  “Shit,” Melissa swore. “Get her on a skiff now.”

  “Matty…,” Beth whispered as her eyes fluttered open, unfocused. “I need…Matty.”

  “What the hell is she talking about?” Blue asked. “Hale, set her down on a skiff and get back to coordinating this evac! We didn’t rush job that ocular implant so you could stare at your girlfriend! Bretton, you stabilize her and then get your ass to work. We have minutes, people!”

  Blue rushed off into the crowd, shouting orders and pointing in all directions as Americans scrambled to and fro.

  “Put her over here,” Melissa said as she waved down an approaching skiff. Desmond quickly set her down on an open space and looked at Melissa.

  “Who is Matty?” Desmond asked.

  Melissa shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “HALE!” Blue’s voice boomed from the crowd.

  “You gonna be ok?” Desmond asked as he leaned in and kissed Melissa.

  “I’ll make due,” she said and shoved him. “Get going before the colonel shoots you.”

  “You think you’re joking…,” he said as he kissed her again and sprinted off to get things organized.

  “Hey, freak?” Melissa asked as she stroked Beth’s sweaty head. “What happened?”

  Beth’s eyes fixed on Melissa for a moment and her brow furrowed. “Who…are you?”

  “Oh, great,” Melissa said as she pushed a lock of Beth’s hair to the side. “I guess your brain finally fried.”

  Beth smiled. “That’s what Matty…was worried about.” She took a deep breath. “And Them…opolous.”

  The name sounded familiar. She wanted to get on the com and ask Desmond or Colonel Masterson, but they were on com silence due to the Mayor.

  “Who is that, sweetie?” Melissa asked. “Who’s Themopolous?”

  “That’s the mech doc,” a wounded tech said from the other side of the skiff. His head was wrapped in gauze and his arm was strapped to his chest, keeping it immobile. “Colonel Masterson kept talking about her to the mech commander. That Capreze guy.”

  “Papa Bear,” Beth said. “He’s…gonna be…worried.”

  “Papa Bear?” Melissa asked then studied Beth for a minute. “What’s your name?”

  Beth’s eyes swam in her head and she struggled to look at Melissa.

  “Hey, freak?” Melissa asked again, taking Beth’s face in her hands. “What’s your name?”

  Beth finally was able to look Melissa in the eye. “R…R…Rachel,” she sighed. “Rachel…Capreze.”

  “Oh shit fuck,” Melissa swore as she turned to look for Blue. “Colonel!”

  ***

  “INCOMING!” someone screamed as the first shells flew from the Three’s ships towards the beached Americans. Smoke and fire screamed from the ships that filled the bay and Americans scattered and ran, all looking for cover.

  All looking for a Ghost to save them.

  “We need Bretton, dammit!” Blue shouted. “She can build us some fucking cover!”

  But Blue knew that wouldn’t happen as he motioned for his people to get to safety. Or at least the illusion of safety. Some were able to duck behind parts of the rocky shore, using the ancient volcanic rock as shields against the blasts. Most were left in the open, scrambling to get onto mag-skiffs and escape the falling shells.

  Sand and chunks of rock flew in every direction as the first shells hit. People were slammed to the ground, gashes and bruises covering their bodies, as they were hit by the debris. Then as the air started to settle a slow, low humming filled everyone’s ears.

  “Rips!” a tech screamed as small balls with razor sharp spikes launched themselves from the craters of the impacts.

  Those hiding didn’t stand a chance as the Rips zoomed through the air, their sensors on alert for human heat signatures. People tried to fend them off, using whatever scraps of metal, rock or driftwood they could find, but the spinning Rips just bore through everything, coming out the other side and into the terrified Americans.

  Screams filled the rocky beach as person after person was ripped apart, their bodies shredded by spikes spinning at close to a hundred miles an hour.

  Blood poured and pooled on the coarse sand of Monterey bay.

  ***

  “That seems to be going well,” Mr. Continental said as the Three watched the destruction on a holo in their conference room.

  “Quite,” Mr. Brown Eyes grinned. “Caught them like rabbits fleeing a tractor.”

  “There’s even the desired ‘chewed up’ resu
lt,” Mr. Plain chuckled. “Must be a horrible way to die.”

  “All ways to die are horrible,” Mr. Continental responded. “That’s why I prefer to live.”

  “Well said,” Mr. Brown Eyes nodded.

  The Three watched the violence with rapt attention. Not one of them squirmed at the gruesome ends they’d brought upon the Americans.

  ***

  “He must be somewhere,” Ms. Isely snapped. “He can’t have left the ship.”

  “No, mum,” a trooper said. “But it appears he has. His quarters have been searched and we conducted a deck to deck search. If Mr. Gein is still on the ship then he’s hiding in a place we cannot reach.”

  “Which is impossible,” Ms. Isely said.

  “Yes, mum,” the trooper nodded.

  Ms. Isely stood on the deck and her hands turned white from gripping the rail as she watched more shells launched and fall on the Americans. “Fine. He can’t harm us now anyway. Are the speeders ready?”

  “Yes, mum,” the trooper nodded. “All troopers are in place.”

  “Good,” Ms. Iselyreplied. “Then tellhim to launch. I want any lucky survivors put under the boot and their skulls crushed. Not a single American is to survive. Am I clear?”

  “Your orders have already been relayed, mum,” the trooper said. “He was very specific.”

  “I am sure he was,” Ms. Isely smiled. “It is nice to be taken seriously for a change.”

  “Mum?”

  “Nothing,” Ms. Isely said as she waved him off. “Go.”

  “Yes, mum.”

  ***

  Melissa shielded Beth’s body with her own as the Rips began their attack. She’d taken a couple direct hits from them, but her BC uniform held and they couldn’t penetrate. Melissa made sure she used their contact to her advantage and absorbed the BC Rips into her suit, adding more mass and substance, and better protection, with each attack.