“Que Dios te bendiga.” Santa Muerte said.
Runner hit the water with a splash, pieces of broken glass raining down on the surface around him. He choked as he almost inhaled a lungful of the filthy water. Twisting, Runner hit something hard that was hidden under the water and then fought his way back to the surface. His chest was throbbing from the flattened bullets but he wasn’t bleeding. Gasping for air, Runner whipped around and spotted the grey fin of the trapped great white shark cutting through the floodwater toward him. Pieces of random trash and things left in the subway station bobbed through the water and the air was thick with a salty brine smell. Trapped in such a strange, confined space the shark seemed almost crazed as it streaked toward Runner, serrated rows of teeth gnashing above its black doll eyes.
“Shit!” T-Bone said.
T-Bone had seen his partner shot and driven through the glass barricade on the far side of the station. Eyes wide with panic, the fat man waddled back to the main thoroughfare. He threw the stock of his Pancor Jackhammer against his shoulder and started firing as he wheeled around toward Priest. More of the glass barricades overlooking the flooded lower level exploded. The scarred priest dropped back, squeezing off a short burst with his assault rifle.
Runner thrashed through the water as more shards of thick glass hailed on him from above. The shark lunged from below. Kicking out desperately, Runner felt the shark’s rough skin brushing against his leg. Runner raised his grappling gun straight up and fired. The harpoon slammed into the ceiling off to one side of one of the building’s skylights and Runner started to retract it, pulling him out of the water and back up to the ground floor. He landed back on the walkway, and ran for cover while dripping water.
“What have you to do with us, oh Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Priest said.
Priest opened fire again. Rounds hammered the wall behind Runner as he darted sideways. T-Bone circled around behind him, him and Runner almost working in concert to cover one another. Priest fired and bullets stitched through T-Bone’s clothing, hammering against T-Bone’s armour, and sent him stumbling back.
One of the rounds ripped through the side of T-Bone’s neck, just above his collar. Blood sprayed from the wound and the fat man staggered sideways. A look of surprise crossed T-Bone’s face and he clutched at the wound, more blood spewing from between his short and chubby fingers.
“This is-, some bullshit.” T-Bone said.
Blood spilled out between his lips. T-Bone staggered sideways into the railing surrounding the drop into the flooded lower platforms. Priest fired again and the railing disintegrated under T-Bone. He dropped away, hitting the water with a massive splash. The great white shark circled around, fin carving through the water, and headed for the disturbance.
“Shit! T-Bone!” Runner yelled.
Runner circled the outskirts of the balcony with his grappling gun. Even if he could provide a rope for his obese partner, however, there was no way Runner could haul him out of the water.
T-Bone broke back through the surface, his gun gone and arms windmilling through the water. He cried out wetly, spitting water and blood, but Runner couldn’t make out any actual words. The trapped shark dived and came up underneath T-Bone. T-Bone screamed as he was dragged under and the frothing water became dark with blood. After watching for a few moments, Runner turned on Priest and Santa Muerte.
“Motherfuckers! I’ll kill you two freaks!” Runner said.
The other contestants had closed in across the entry hall. They stood side by side with their weapons trained on Runner. Runner only had his single grappling gun to fight back but he started around the upper level, moving fast.
Priest fired first, his M4 chattering into Runner’s chest and causing him to stagger back, his body armour catching the bullets but barely softening the impacts. When Santa Muerte opened up the .45 Colts thundered and drilled through Runner’s chest. Both concentrated their fire, ripping through Runner’s armour and upper arms and threading Runner with holes. He staggered, blood spewing down his torso. Somehow he kept his feet until the kill switch on his right forearm started to sing. T-Bone had been taken under and after a prolonged savaging had died, sending a signal to Runner’s bracelet that filled him with adrenaline and drugs.
“Is that all you got?” Runner yelled.
Runner straightened up as the drugs took effect. Priest crossed himself with one hand as the smoking barrel of his M4 rifle created ominous wisps in the air. Santa Muerte was more prosaic, aiming down the barrel of one of her Colts.
“Adios.” She said.
Santa Muerte emptied the gun into Runner’s head, .45 slugs splitting his skull open and sending the young man wheeling over the balcony to the water below. The great white shark, still feeding on Runner’s partner, didn’t even seem to notice as the body hit the water and sunk to the bottom.
xXx
Thao and Layla exited through the carpark of the abandoned mall. It was still filled with vehicles that were left behind after the quake. Once they were in an area with open walls their drones joined up with them again. The flying cameras whirred in and circled them like excited dogs.
Descending down the ramps of the parking garage, the two of them made their way to the ground level while carrying their weapons in front of them. Thao’s new pistol was compact but densely heavy, loaded with a clip of 9mm polyform rounds. The bullets mushroomed on impact, not good against body armour but devastating on flesh and bone. Thao didn’t know why he knew that and was a little worried about what it could mean.
Leading with her new P90, Layla emerged onto the street. Other teams would have been attracted to the weapon cache, whether to try and get the guns for themselves or to ambush the team that had already collected it. Down the road a short distance smoke was still pouring out of the mall’s main entry where the doors had melted from the burning substance inside, making it obvious no one would be exiting from there. The drones circled around overhead but it seemed quiet.
“Puppy, now! Get them!” Yoyo Yokatomi yelled.
Legs whirring, a large, olive mech appeared from behind a truck across the street. It carried itself on two enormous legs like a mechanical chicken. A minigun mounted on top of the mech, off to its right side, started to spin with a high-pitched squeal before erupting. Thao and Layla both threw themselves sideways. Rounds chewed into a nearby concrete pillar and through an abandoned van, concrete dust and pieces of the vehicle filling the air. Scrambling for cover, Thao and Layla made it behind the low wall that ran around the ground level of the parking structure.
“You stupid bitch! You were supposed to wait until they were totally clear of the building, I told you that!” Mark Rizzio said.
Yoyo’s partner was huddled behind the truck where the mech had been hidden. Yoyo glared at him and her spiked bat rocked gently at her side in her tightened fist.
“Puppy doesn’t like it when people are mean to me.” Yoyo said.
Puppy, the mech, was silent for a moment as it circled around. Its multi-eyed head swivelled. Rizzio hesitated, glancing from Yoyo’s bat, still splattered with fake blood, to the ex-military mech that was now helping them. Puppy only seemed to be responding to Yoyo’s voice commands and not his, hence why he’d had to rely on Yoyo to order it to attack Thao and Layla. For a few moments Rizzio was worried Yoyo would turn the mech on him.
“Okay, sorry, Puppy.” Rizzio said.
The giant robot turned and opened fire on Thao and Layla’s position again, bullets chewing into the low concrete wall. Rizzio didn’t wait for Yoyo to change her mind. He darted around the truck and followed the mech, using it for cover. As long as the mech kept smothering Layla and Thao with suppressing fire he hoped he could get close enough to nail at least one of them with his shotgun.
Layla led the way back into the parking structure. She and Thao crawled low across the shiny concrete. Another abandoned vehicle imploded from the hurricane of gunfire coming from the mech.
; “Where the hell did they get a damn mech?” Layla yelled.
Clear of the suppressing fire for a moment, Layla straightened up and fired. A short burst ricocheted off Puppy’s thick armour. She saw Rizzio hurrying behind the mech and fired a quick burst at him as well. In the middle of the street, Rizzio scurried back behind the mech’s legs.
Thao rolled across the ground with his head covered. He had been following Layla but his adrenaline was howling and making him too terrified and confused to think. His new pistol seemed useless compared to the tanklike mech. Puppy focused its attention on where Layla had popped up. More grey concrete dust filled the air as Layla ducked and squirmed her way back behind cover. Still staying low, Thao jumped and started to run in the opposite direction.
“Thao!” Layla yelled.
Thao scrambled toward the middle of the parking structure, panicked. Seeing an opportunity, Rizzio sprinted toward the low wall of the parking structure’s ground level. His ears were ringing and smoke from the mech’s minigun stung his eyes. Vaulting over the wall easily, the suited Mafia soldier fanned out with his shotgun.
Moving among the leftover vehicles, Rizzio spotted Thao across the garage. He fired and his shotgun blast thundered over Thao’s head. Thao straightened, risking the attention of the ex-military mech, and he fired back wildly in Rizzio’s direction as he ran. There was a block of elevators in the middle of the parking structure which Thao ran toward. Puppy’s shots tore through the centre of the building and split Thao further off from Layla. Rizzio followed Thao, circling around the other side of the central column of elevators.
The mech came to the mouth of the garage, bulky body swivelling from side to side. Yoyo crossed the road behind Puppy, using the mech for cover just like Rizzio had done. Yoyo’s spiked bat had a limited range but Puppy hovered over her like a bodyguard. Layla rose and fired at the mech’s head, unable to get a shot at the younger woman. The mech shook it off and fired, turning its minigun on Layla as she disappeared down the side of the parking garage. Yoyo stomped her foot and looked at Layla like a pouting teenager.
“Stop shooting at my Puppy!” Yoyo said.
Thao threaded around the elevator bank then ducked as he heard a shotgun roar. Automatically raising his pistol in the direction of the noise, Thao yanked back on the trigger and fired blindly, almost injuring his wrist. Rizzio pumped his shotgun and ran at Thao. The man stumbled sideways as a couple of bullets whined past, nearly catching him, but he managed to circle around until he was right on top of Thao. Lunging, Rizzio swung the butt of his shotgun into Thao’s face. It impacted with his jaw, jarring it painfully, and Thao was knocked onto his back. Laughing, Rizzio swept the shotgun’s butt back against his shoulder.
“Game over.” Rizzio said.
Layla fired from across the garage, the short burst shattering Rizzio’s right knee. He crumbled with a yell and dropped his shotgun. Thao was dazed but he scrabbled backward, away from Rizzio as he writhed on the concrete with blood pumping out of his knee. Without thinking, Thao raised his pistol and trained it on Rizzio’s forehead.
For a few moments, Thao had a clear shot at Rizzio’s unprotected head. Just like he had with Raptor, however, Thao hesitated and couldn’t bring himself to kill the man, even it was just a squeeze of the trigger. Rizzio retreated, grabbing his shotgun and dragging his shattered leg behind him. Blaming his dizzy state, Thao also picked himself up and retreated away from Rizzio toward Layla.
The mech stalked around the other side of the garage with Yoyo following. The slightly worn gears in Puppy’s legs and what passed for its hips squeaked as its massive and rounded body bobbled back and forth. Puppy’s minigun barrels whirled, firing, and forced Thao to hurry up in his race toward cover. Layla returned fire, aiming for the sensors on the mech’s head. Rizzio, meanwhile, crawled hand over hand back toward the mech and Yoyo.
“Help me!” Rizzio said.
Yoyo huffed, “Puppy, pick up the bad man.” She said.
The mech stopped firing and lowered itself into a deep squat with its little arms extended. It got Rizzio by the shoulders and pulled him upright, Rizzio yelling in pain as blood poured out of his leg. The mech was incapable of being gentle so the man dangled under the mech as if crucified as the trio backed away. Yoyo picked up Rizzio’s shotgun in one hand, her bat in the other, and started to lead Puppy back the way they had come.
“Let’s go, we’ll get these buttheads later, Puppy.” Yoyo said, “See you real soon, jerks!”
Layla and Thao let the other team retreat rather than risk engaging with the mech again. Joined together, the duo hunkered down by the low wall near one of the parking structure’s ramps.
“What the hell did you do” Layla said, “Did you have a clear shot on him? Why didn’t you take it?”
“I didn’t-, I don’t know.” Thao said, “I’m not-, not what they say about me, I’m not a killer.”
Thao’s mouth tasted like copper. He swilled his tongue around and spat a red stream of blood onto the concrete. His whole jaw felt unhinged after Rizzio’s blow with the shotgun butt and several of his teeth throbbed.
“On this show, you have to be! That’s two teams we’ve had a chance to get out of the way now and screwed up. It’s not just about getting rid of the competition, if we put on a good show they’ll reward us for it.” Layla said, “Only one team gets out of this alive, we need to play the game! We need to be killers!”
Thao nodded as if ashamed, still probing his bruised jaw with the tip of his tongue. Blood was filling his mouth faster than he could swallow it or spit. Feeling that one of his back teeth was beyond saving, Thao reached deep into his mouth with his fingers and wriggled the cracked tooth loose. As he held the bloody tooth in his palm, Thao received a flash of memory. He saw himself retrieving a package in a dark alley, and somehow, he knew it was human teeth wrapped up in a little baggie. It was from another reality show, Real Gladiators, and he had been waiting behind the studio for his contact to bring them to him. Things came back to him in a jumble of memories, names and thoughts that he could barely make sense of. He still couldn’t remember his own name, or why he’d be interested in receiving the package, but there was some significance there.
“The tooth-, teeth.” Thao said.
“Yes, very good, that’s called a tooth, we use it for chewing shit.” Layla rolled her eyes.
“No, it’s-, DNA! That’s what it is!” Thao said, “I’m not who they say I am, they were lying! There was another show like Slayerz, Real Gladiators, and I got some teeth from a contestant after one of the shows so I could test the DNA. We need to test this and prove I’m not who they say I am.”
“Great, how are we going to do that, exactly?” Layla said, “And why would you be testing DNA from contestants on other shows?”
“I don’t remember the why yet, but-, is there an old police station in the arena somewhere?” Thao said, “If there’s a computer still hooked up to their network we could test my DNA there, and it would tell me exactly who I am!”
“Are you insane? Did you hear what I just said?” Layla said, “We need to be focused on taking out some of the other teams, not-, this bullshit, whatever it is.”
“Please, there’s something else going on here, I can’t explain it but I feel it in my gut!” Thao said, “I can’t remember but I just know I was looking into shows like Slayerz before I ended up here.”
“What are the chances any computers at the police station will even still be attached to the law enforcement network in here, anyway? Or that we’ll be able to access them?” Layla said.
“I don’t know, but if you were me wouldn’t you do anything to find out who you were?” Thao said, “You said yourself they lied about you, right? What if they lied about who I am? Can we just try and if I’m wrong, I’ll drop it until we can get out of this damn game?”
Thao was still holding the cracked tooth in one hand, trailing a piece of bloody root. Concrete dust was still swirling through the air but the park
ing garage was quiet since the other two contestants and the mech had left. Layla stared at him for a few moments.
“Okay, fine, where do we start?” Layla said.
“Let me check the map.” Thao turned on his map.
Chapter Twelve.
“There has been a confirmed Abomination sighting within your area. Threat level: Chartreuse.”
“Please abide by the following directives to maximise your chances of survival.”
Lock and avoid all doors and windows.
Ensure you have a three-day supply of food and water.
Obey all instructions from local authorities.
Seal yourself in your personal anti-attack bunker, if available.
Once sealed, do not open your bunker for any reason until the threat is confirmed passed. The Abominations may imitate the voices of your neighbours and loved ones.
Do not consume dairy products.
Arm yourself with Class Nine of above weaponry if available. Do not attempt to arm yourself with weaponry Class Eight or lower, they will not save you.
Pry out any and all fillings or artificial teeth. Remove any artificial limbs and distance yourself from them.
If you have a chosen deity or organised religious body, pray.
“This message brought to you by Nutrition-Os Xtreme. Now with flavour.”
Thao and Layla headed toward the top of the map, to a lower and more flooded section of the ruins. There was a trail of blood outside the parking structure when they left but no sign of Yoyo, Rizzio or their mech. The map updated and showed Thao and Layla were moving away from the other teams. Drago and Hutchins were free of the library but moving toward the central crater. The rest of the remaining teams were gathered on the far side of the arena.
The two camera drones bobbed along behind Thao and Layla. They’d entered another, more heavily damaged section of half-demolished buildings. Layla jerked her head back at the drones.
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