by Ben Wolf
Why hadn’t Garth just let him keep the damned mods for his arm?
A bloodcurdling scream ripped Justin’s attention away from his thoughts.
He looked to his left.
The other man, the one in the lab coat whom Justin didn’t know, clutched at two long spikes protruding from his torso—spikes growing from one of those things. It had him pinned to the floor.
“Gary!” a female voice yelled.
The thing lurched forward with its gaping mouth open and bit into Gary’s head. He shrieked again.
Noby whirled to his left and cut the thing in half with three rapid shots from his plasma repeater. It blew apart in a mass of gray skin, burgundy flesh, and black blood.
“Gary!” It was the other woman shouting.
But it was too late for Gary. Far, far too late.
What was taking Rodney so long to get that door open?
Something knocked Justin onto his back and wedged the Plastrex table’s flat surface against his chest.
Red saliva oozed from the thing’s open mouth as its long fingers curled around the edges of the table. Justin recognized a frayed bun of graying red hair near the top of its head.
It was Oafy. The bitch was dead, but she was still coming for him.
24
Oafy pushed down hard on the table, and Justin pushed back hard, but even with his augmented arm, she continued to close distance. She reached for him with her long, bone-tipped fingers, and he hollered.
A trio of plasma pulses split her open from the left side and splattered seared flesh and blood all over Justin’s face, arms, and chest. It reeked of burnt rubber and decay.
He sputtered and shoved the table back, and what remained of Oafy’s corrupted body slumped against the back of the couch-barrier in a growing pool of blood.
An arm grabbed Justin under his armpit and yanked him to his feet. He wiped his eyes and saw Stecker motioning him away from the phichaloride gas encroaching from within the offices.
But it was Gerhardt who’d helped him up.
Justin opened his mouth to thank Gerhardt, but the exit door was open, and Gerhardt was already hauling Justin toward it. Stecker was the last one out, and then Rodney shut the door behind them.
“Are you okay?” Stecker asked Justin.
He wiped his face with the sleeve of Garth’s suit. Good thing he hadn’t wanted it back. He nodded. “I think so.”
The unnamed woman stuttered, “W-w-was that my finance department?”
“Yes, Marilyn, it was,” Bartholomew replied. “Vanessa, Ofelia, Gary, your finance department—they’re all dead, or worse.”
Justin pulled Garth’s suit coat off and wiped his face with the back of it, the only part not already covered with Oafy’s insides.
Even despite their previous negative interactions, Justin would’ve never wished a fate like that on her. He felt even worse that he’d somehow caused it to happen, though he hardly had time to worry about any of that now.
“What are we going to do?” Marilyn’s hands shook, then her entire body began quaking until Shannon wrapped her in a hug. Her voice cracked. “Are we all going to die?”
Justin pulled the Nebrandt bud from the suit coat’s lapel and tucked it into the pocket of his dress shirt, then he tossed the coat to the floor and left it there. The burnt-rubber-and-decayed-flesh stench in his nostrils persisted.
WHAM. Something thudded against the door, and they all jumped.
“We need to keep moving,” Gerhardt said.
Justin glared at Carl. “You still think I’m crazy?”
Carl scowled at him, then he looked at Bartholomew. “How do we get out of here?”
“Our best way out of the mining complex is the parking garage,” Bartholomew said. “We can get to the administrative residence area from here, and from there we can reach the common area where we can gain access to the parking garage. The rest of the mine’s employees should be there as well. It’s standard protocol to meet in the cafeteria in the case of alarms or other issues.”
“Are any of the comms working?” Gerhardt asked. “I want the rest of security here for an escort.”
Stecker shook his head. “Mine’s not working.”
“Noby has access to an external connection.” Carl turned to him. “Raise Captain Zhao, and tell him to get the Inter-Planetary Marines over here right away. Tell him it’s a Code Green. Explain about the gas, too, and tell him to be ready to get us off this rock the instant we arrive back at the ship.”
Noby nodded and pulled a small, chrome object from his inner suit coat pocket.
WHAM. The door shook upon impact. WHAM.
“Guys?” Rodney pointed to the top and the bottom of the door he’d just shut. “Whether they get through or not, this door isn’t an airtight seal. That gas is seeping through.”
Sure enough, black gas issued from the edges of the door.
WHAM. WHAM.
“Come on,” Harry said. “Bartholomew said to head toward the admin residence area, so that’s where we’re going.”
Justin glanced at Shannon. He was so glad she’d survived thus far. If his actions had somehow resulted in any harm coming to her, he would never have forgiven himself.
But she just gave him a glare and started walking.
As they headed down the corridor toward the residence area, Stecker took up the rear and made sure those things weren’t following.
Etya hurried up and kept pace next to Rodney. “Give me your override code. You cannot be the only one who has master access in an emergency like this. I can store it in my prosthesis and help open doors.”
Bartholomew glanced back, nodded at Rodney, then faced forward again.
Rodney sighed and handed Etya his identity card. She closed her fist around it, and white light emanated from her palm. It faded, and she handed it back to him. “Thank you.”
“Sure.”
Justin wondered if his arm could do that, too.
“We need to stop in the security office and grab some supplies. Gas masks, more guns, portable lights, and backup comms. It’s just down the hall, here,” Gerhardt said.
He led them to it. The door wouldn’t open, so Etya tried out her master access code. She pressed her robotic hand against the scanner, and the door slid open.
“At least we know it works,” Harry said.
Inside, they found the lights on and everything in working order except for the comms. Two guards sat at their stations, watching the camera feeds.
“What the hell are you two doing just sitting here?” Gerhardt snapped at them.
They jumped to their feet. One of them, a taller guy, wore a nametag that read “Janikowski,” and the shorter one’s nametag read “Wallace.”
“Nothing, sir,” Janikowski said. “I mean, our jobs. We haven’t had any reports come in. Looks like everything’s fine on the cameras.”
“What the hell happened to you?” Wallace pointed at Justin. “You alright? You’re covered in blood.”
And much worse. Justin nodded. “Fine, thanks.”
“Are you idiots high?” Gerhardt asked. “We just came out of a damned warzone, and you’re telling me you didn’t see a thing?”
Janikowski held up his hands. “Honestly, sir, we have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Garth. Justin knew it immediately. He must’ve been feeding security false camera feeds this whole time. He glanced at Etya, but she didn’t make eye contact with him.
Gerhardt explained the situation to Wallace and Janikoswki—loudly—and set them to work in retrieving a variety of equipment. By the time they finished, the entire group had gas masks and portable radios, and Bartholomew, Etya, Harry, Shannon, and Rodney all had plasma repeaters, but Marilyn refused to carry one, and Carl declined as well.
Stecker handed it to Justin instead. “I’m not going to regret this, am I?”
“Only if you don’t show me how to use it.”
Stecker gave him and everyone else a basic rund
own of the plasma repeaters’ functions, including how to adjust from a stun blast to kill shots. “If we run into any more of those things, just keep it on ‘kill.’ But don’t point your weapon at anything unless you intend to kill it. Crystal?”
“Clear,” they responded in unison.
Gerhardt nodded. “Let’s head out.”
As soon as the words left Gerhardt’s mouth, the screens with the camera displays went black. Then the overhead lights flickered, and they went out. Just like in Bartholomew’s office, the emergency lights flipped on and quickly shut off.
And then the alarms sounded.
Stecker swore. “You know what that means.”
Shannon shook her head. “It’s a different alarm.”
“She’s right.” Rodney pointed to the vents in the ceiling. “The vents are sucking air in, not pumping gas out. It’s the life support alarm. The life support systems for this section of the complex are shutting down.”
“Does that include the admin residence halls, too?” Bartholomew asked.
“Yes. Admin, security, and the admin residence halls are connected to the same sub-network. The mine is its own sub-network, and the common area, cafeteria, and laborer dormitories are on a third sub-network,” Rodney said.
“Can you bring it back up?” Bartholomew asked.
“I can try, but I’m going to need help.”
“What kind of help?” Harry asked.
“More IT people. Or…” Rodney sighed. “…one in particular.”
Justin smirked. Garth must not have been exaggerating his importance after all.
“Then we’ll find them in the residence hall.” Bartholomew led them out of the security offices and into the corridor. They started toward the admin residence halls. “How long before we run into trouble with the life support systems?”
“I honestly have no idea,” Rodney replied. “Each sub-network has its own environmental processors for things like air, water, temperature control, humidity, and the like. There’s a lot of space in here, though, and that means a lot of air. Venting all of it out could take awhile. Or it could take a few minutes. It’s really not my area of expertise.”
“At least we have these air masks,” Marilyn said.
“Wrong kind of mask,” Stecker said. “Those are filtration masks. They filter bad stuff out of the air you’re breathing. If there’s no air, they do nothing.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Don’t put it on unless we run into more of that black gas,” Harry told her. “It’ll keep you safe from that.”
“I’d say if we start getting cold, that’s a solid indication we’re in trouble,” Rodney said.
“Noted.” Bartholomew led the way, with Carl, Noby, and Gerhardt close behind.
Justin hung back with Shannon and Harry, and Etya walked with Rodney and Marilyn. Stecker and the other two security guys brought up the rear.
“For what it’s worth,” Shannon muttered to Justin, “I’m sorry I misjudged you. You were right.”
Justin blinked. Her goodwill was sudden, but welcome. “Thank you.”
“Likewise.” Harry extended his hand in front of Shannon to Justin as they walked. “Can we agree to let the past stay in the past?”
Justin stared at Harry’s hand for a moment, then he shook it. He partly wished he still had the energy blade mod installed in his arm so he could cut Harry’s hand off, but in a situation like this, cooperation trumped grudges. “Yeah, fine. We’re good.”
By the time they reached the admin residence halls, the air had taken on a slight chill, enough that Justin could see the first wisps of vapor on his breath. They were running out of air.
Rodney scanned his card, stepped away, and the door popped open. Gerhardt and Noby led the way, their plasma repeaters held high, and Carl and Bartholomew followed.
A few of the blue lights above still glowed, and alarm lights flashed as Justin followed with Harry at his side. They’d entered a small common area with limited seating and lounging space, but no one was there. Fortunately, Justin saw no signs of violence or trauma, either.
“Looks like everyone already evacuated.” Harry nodded. “That’s procedure, anyway. They may all be in the main common area already.”
“What floor, Rodney?” Gerhardt asked.
“Most of the IT staff lives on the second floor, but Garth Winkler, the guy I need most, is on the third floor. I think.”
“If he’s still there,” Stecker said.
“We need to evacuate anyone left in here to the common area anyway, so I’d like to do a quick floor-by-floor search.” Bartholomew turned to Gerhardt. “Will your security access still open individual dormitory rooms?”
Gerhardt shook his head. “Iffy. I’d rather not risk it.”
“Then we’ll go in two teams, one with Rodney, one with Etya.” Bartholomew motioned to two as-yet invisible teams to his left and to his right. “We’ll clear this place out of anyone still left, whether mutated or normal.”
“That’s a fine plan, but I’m going to require Noby to remain here with me,” Carl said. “Plus one more of your security guards.”
Bartholomew’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “We can make that work, can’t we, Laithe?”
“Sure. Fine.” Gerhardt frowned, but he, too, nodded.
“No offense, but I’m not going any farther in the dark like this,” Marilyn said.
“I was going to suggest that you stay here as well, Marilyn.” Bartholomew looked at Shannon next. “You’re welcome to stay here, too.”
Shannon shook her head and raised her plasma repeater. “No. I’ll do my part.”
Justin stifled a grin. Ever since he’d met her, Shannon had been a badass.
Bartholomew turned to Etya. “You okay with this?”
She nodded and raised her repeater as well. “I have only ever advocated for saving lives from this godforsaken place. I will continue to do so however I am able.”
“Very well,” Bartholomew said.
He divided them into two teams: Justin, Shannon, Harry, Rodney, and Gerhardt on one, and Bartholomew, Janikowski, Etya, and Stecker on the other. Wallace and Marilyn would stay behind with Carl and Noby.
“We’ll meet back down here so we can head over to the common area,” Bartholomew directed. “Move quickly. I have no desire to linger here.”
Justin and the others on his team followed Gerhardt up to the third floor, and Bartholomew led his team down the first-floor corridor.
As Justin progressed through the third-floor corridor, the light chill deepened to a steady cold, but Justin hadn’t yet struggled to breathe. He kept his breaths steady and even. Perhaps that helped, but he didn’t know for sure.
They cleared residence after residence, finding nothing but dark, empty rooms. But Justin didn’t mind—it beat the alternative they’d left behind in the admin center.
When they reached Garth’s room, Rodney scanned his card, and the door slid open. Unlike in the other rooms, Garth’s lights still burned.
Justin recognized the garbage strewn everywhere, but he fixed his attention on the boxes with the mods for his arm sitting on the bar-height kitchen counter. He needed those mods.
“Garth Winkler?” Gerhardt called. He got no response.
By now they’d worked out a system. Gerhardt led every breach, and Justin and Harry followed him in. Shannon and Rodney stood watch at the door, one pointed down each of the hallway’s two directions. That way, nothing could sneak up on them.
He glanced at Garth’s command center, now unusually dark. Only one of the screens glowed with light, and that one displayed a blurred, unmoving image of something. Justin couldn’t tell what it was.
Justin forayed toward the kitchen, determined to grab those boxes of mods. He could stuff them into Garth’s oversized suit pants easily enough.
“Guys? I’ve got something,” Harry called from Garth’s room.
“Stay posted at the door, you two,” Gerhardt commanded Shannon and Ro
dney. “Barclay, converge on Harry’s position with me.”
Justin stopped his progress toward the kitchen, glanced between Garth’s room and the mods, then reluctantly complied. He and Gerhardt entered Garth’s room in succession with their plasma repeaters held high.
Harry stood there, facing something on the far side of the bed with his repeater at his side. He raised his left hand. “Easy. He’s really messed up.”
Justin lowered his repeater, but Gerhardt kept his up. There, in the corner, with his hands curled around his knees, sat Garth. He trembled and quivered as if cold, or perhaps in shock. Maybe both.
“He won’t respond to anything,” Harry said. “He just sits there, staring ahead, shivering.”
“I’ll get his ass up.” Gerhardt holstered his repeater and pulled out his stun baton.
Justin put his robotic arm out and stepped in front of Gerhardt. “Wait. Let me try first.”
Gerhardt huffed, but he relented.
Justin handed his repeater to Harry and crept over to Garth. “Hey, buddy. How are you?”
Garth didn’t respond. He just sat there, his bloodshot eyes focused on nothing. Plumes of white vapor expelled from his mouth in shaky breaths.
“The admin sub-network is down. The life support system is venting all the breathable air from the mine. We don’t know why, and Rodney can’t fix it.”
Garth blinked, and for the briefest instant, he glanced at Justin. He muttered, “That’s because Rodney is a moron.”
Justin cracked a smile. “We need your help. And we need to get you out of here.”
Garth shook his head. “I saw what happened in Bartholomew’s office. What happened to Ofelia and that blonde chick. What happened to the finance department.” He shook his head again. “I’m not going out there.”
“Then you’ll freeze to death in here, or you’ll suffocate,” Harry stated.
Justin shot Harry a glare.
Garth swallowed and said softly, “I never meant for any of this to happen.”