Earth Unending

by M. R. Forbes

  “You’re going to make me do it?” Nathan asked.

  “Tinker’s orders, Colonel. No hesitation.”

  Hayden shifted his hand, resting it near his revolver. He didn’t care who took the shot. He wasn’t going down without any fight at all.

  “Go ahead, Sheriff,” the General said, noticing his posture. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Nathan turned his head to look at the armored figure beside him. He glanced back at Hayden. His eyes were invisible behind the visor.

  “Let’s make this more fair,” he said, raising his other hand and tapping the helmet to open his visor, taking away his night vision.

  They stayed that way, facing off, both men motionless and still, each waiting for the other to twitch. Hayden didn’t want to shoot Nathan, but Nathan wasn’t giving him a choice.

  His heart thumped in his chest. His eyes focused on Nathan’s armor, marking the spot where he would aim the revolver. His body relaxed. His fingers tensed.

  Something flitted over the Iron General’s head.

  Nathan started to move.

  Hayden grabbed the revolver, sliding it out of its holster and taking the shot at the same time Nathan’s rifle spit fire. Hayden heard the round zip past him, fired wide. He saw Nathan topple back, struck by his slug.

  The night lit up in multicolored lights, Clint’s UFO coming to life and blinding the Iron General.

  Hayden did the only thing he could do.

  He ran.

  Chapter 40

  “Gus, go!” Hayden shouted, vaulting the car a second time and sprinted away from Nathan and the Iron General.

  The drone was still hovering in front of them, lights flashing in the darkness, blinding the armored soldier.

  Gus came out of his crouch and began to run, dashing across the lot, around another car, and toward the embankment.

  Hayden heard a screech on his right, and he turned his head in time to see the Hellion on a direct intercept course with him.

  He never thought he would get away without dealing with the monster. He swung his revolver in its direction and fired, the first round hitting it in the shoulder and slowing it down. He fired again, hitting its leg and putting it on the ground. Then he slowed to get around another car, working back toward Gus.

  Plasma bolts lit up the night as the Iron General started to recover, taking shots from his position a few hundred meters back. The bolts went wide and high, his aim still suffering from the lights.

  Hayden had to get down the incline and over to the rows of multistory buildings beyond. He might be able to find a place to hide, to disappear until the Liberators got tired of looking for him. It might not be possible, but he had to try. He didn’t have any other choices if he wanted to make it out of this mess.

  He got to the next car and then reached the embankment. Gus was already at the bottom, his dirty clothes suggesting he had rolled down the hill. He was facing Hayden, and he pointed and shouted in warning.

  Hayden spun back, surprised the find the Hellion already healed from its wounds and coming up behind him. He brought his revolver up, getting one shot off before the Hellion was on him. It slashed his hand with its claws, one of them catching on the gun and yanking it from his hand at the same time it barreled into him, throwing its weight against him and sending him off the edge of the hill.

  They rolled down the incline together, Hayden barely getting his hand up to block the Hellion’s teeth from reaching his neck. He used his other hand to punch the creature in the side, the blows ineffective against its tough hide.

  Hayden kicked up when they reached the bottom, managing to get the Hellion off him as its claws raked his shoulder, digging through the bodysuit and into his skin. It fell on its side next to him, and he tried to get up, only to have it tackle him again. Another set of claws sank into his thigh, sending burning waves of pain up from the injury. He cried out in pain and anger, throwing his large hand into the monster’s head and knocking it aside.

  The Hellion shrieked with pain, rocking back and snapping it with its teeth. Hayden punched it in the face again, beating the mouth away and dislodging two of the long incisors. It only seemed to make the Hellion angrier. The creature growled and slashed its claws against Hayden’s chest, creating a new gash through the bodysuit and his flesh.

  Hayden grunted and clenched his teeth, snapping his hand up just in time to block the Hellion’s jaws as they sank toward his face.

  He grabbed its neck, holding and squeezing, meeting its eyes with his as it scrambled against him, claws slashing at his body. He felt another burn just above the ring on his left arm, and another on his right shin. The Hellion opened its mouth, trying to breathe, desperately trying to dislodge itself.

  Even if he managed to hold on, Hayden knew it could kill him with its flailing claws alone.

  “Sheriff!” Gus said, appearing beside him. The Hellion raised its head toward him, opening its mouth to hiss.

  He shoved the muzzle of his assault rifle between its teeth.

  All the way down to the second barrel.

  “Do it,” Hayden said.

  Gus pulled the trigger, releasing the small round sphere, the explosive grenade that burst into the Hellion’s mouth with enough force to sink deep into its softer insides.

  It shrieked in pain, its struggle slowing. Hayden used the power of his replacement hand to throw it to the side. Gus grabbed Hayden and pulled him to his feet as the Hellion struggled to catch its breath.

  Its tough hide muffled the explosion, but it wasn’t enough to absorb it completely. The entire Hellion detonated, pieces of it exploding outward in a mess of hard flesh, blood, and gore.

  “Come on,” Hayden said, turning away from the creature and starting for the lines of buildings ahead. The Iron General’s attack had paused when the Hellion caught up to him, but he didn’t expect it to last, and they had to cover another hundred meters before they would have any cover at all.

  “Sheriff, here,” Gus said, tossing him the rifle. He was already digging another one out of the gun bag, the activity keeping him stationary.

  “Gus, move!” Hayden shouted.

  “I need a gun, Sheriff,” Gus said. A bolt hit him in the back, and he fell forward. “Ah, fuck. That hurts.”

  Hayden stopped, so tempted to move back to the mongrel’s position.

  Bolts slammed into the ground around Gus, four of them grouped within centimeters of him. The fifth didn’t miss, hitting him in the back a second time.

  “Ahhhh!” Gus shouted. “Son of a bitch. He finally got a gun out of the bag. He turned over, falling on his back and beginning to shoot.

  Hayden looked up. Nathan and the Iron General were both at the top of the slope. They spread apart as Gus’ barrage reached them, rounds smacking off the general’s armor.

  “Sheriff, go!” Gus said. “Please. Don’t let me die for nothing.”

  Hayden clenched his teeth. Gus fired a grenade from the rifle, hitting the dirt ahead of the soldiers. It detonated throwing up a mound of earth and dust, disrupting their view.

  “Go!” he shouted again, firing another grenade and kicking up more dirt.

  Nathan and the General were starting down the slope. Nathan fired back at Gus, his shots missing. The General shot at him too.

  He didn’t miss.

  Hayden sprinted for the buildings. He could hear more explosions behind him, grenades raising a cloud between him and his attackers. His body was on fire, his wounds burning and aching and bleeding more heavily from the exertion.

  He reached the first of the four-story residences. The streets here were relatively intact, having avoided the worst of the earlier war. He continued to run along it, turning left into an alley splitting a few of the buildings. He continued west, away from the shopping center. He needed somewhere to go. Somewhere to hide.

  He ran another two blocks before he spotted it. A set of stairs leading to a basement. He nearly fell down them in his rush to reach the door before
he was seen, grabbing the handle and pulling.

  Locked.

  He pulled again, harder this time, yanking the lock right out of the door. It swung open slightly, and he ducked in. Would they notice the broken lock? Would they think he did it? It was the only chance he had. The Hellion had taken away his ability to go any further.

  His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, and he could make out pipes and garbage strewn across a floor coated in ten centimeters of floodwater. He spotted a water heater in the corner, and he splashed over to it. He squeezed himself in behind it as best he could, tears streaming from his eyes as he slumped into the water.

  Three days.

  Natalia.

  Hallia.

  He had done his best. He had tried to protect them. He had tried to protect everybody.

  He laid the rifle across his lap. Gun or no gun, if they found him down here, he was going to die.

  He looked down at the water, already staining red with his blood.

  If they didn’t find him down here, he might die anyway.

  Chapter 41

  “Stop fucking around, Colonel!” James shouted. “Do you think I can’t tell you’re pulling your fucking punches? Do you think I don’t know you’re hesitating? I fucking told you, no hesitation!”

  “He wanted to talk, damn it,” Nathan said, standing up to James. “Not fight. He wanted to fucking talk! To protect his family. To help people. Do you even know what that means?”

  James took a step toward him, much larger than him in the powered armor. “Don’t you ever fucking talk to me like that, Nathan. Tinker wanted you out here because he didn’t think you could do what needed to be done. He thinks you’re soft. Too soft to make the hard decision. And that’s what it is, Colonel. The hard decision. Inaction is fucking easy.”

  “What if he can help? What if he’s right, and there’s another way to do this without killing almost every human on the planet? Don’t you think that’s a conversation worth having? Don’t you think that’s better than this?”

  He pointed down at the dead soldier, who was still cradling his rifle against his chest.

  “No,” James replied. “I don’t. What do you think happens when Proxima gets wind of what we’ve done here? We can explain some of it away, but they’re going to send more ships and more soldiers guaranteed. We need to be in a position to deal with that, and we can’t do that if we’re negotiating some bullshit treaty with some Earther from the west side of the continent who claims to have a trife-free community.”

  “He was working with one of the Spacers. He knows them. Maybe he can help you talk to them?”

  “Talk? I’m sick of talking. Talk gets nothing done. Talk is half the reason the trife took our planet. Too much talking, not enough sacrifice. Fuck that.”

  “General, there has to be another option. A better—”

  “Too much talk, Relentless,” James said. He pointed to the rows of apartments ahead of them. “He’s in there somewhere. Doc says she saw him duck into the alleys. Since you’re so eager to talk, you can go down there and get him. You owe him one anyway.” He pointed to the scuff on Nathan’s body armor, right over his heart. “That was a killing shot. Maybe you want to spare him, but he had no intention of sparing you.”

  “How do you know I won’t run off?”

  James laughed. “Where the fuck are you going to go? Anywhere that isn’t Edenrise is going to be free of trife and humans ten days from now. Don’t be stupid. Besides, Doc can keep an eye on you. She can’t see into the alleys, but you can’t get to and from the alleys without crossing any wider streets. Go ahead, Relentless. Do your fucking job for once.”

  Nathan’s jaw tensed. James was right. Hayden had shot him right in the heart. The armor plating had absorbed the blow, leaving a chip in the hardened material, but if he hadn’t been wearing it, he wouldn’t have gotten back up. It was ridiculous to keep defending the sheriff after that. It was ridiculous to think there was any version of events where things didn’t end badly for one of them.

  Why should it be him?

  “You’re right,” Nathan said. “Are you coming?”

  “No. I’m going to find whoever sent that little toy to blind me. If Sheriff’s got friends out here somewhere, they need to die as much as he does.”

  “They’re going to die anyway.”

  “That isn’t personal, though. This is. You take care of Sheriff, and stop questioning every order I give you. I won’t overlook it forever.”

  “Yes, sir,” Nathan said. “What if he kills me, sir?”

  “Then you deserve to die, and he deserves to escape. At least until I hunt him down again. He won’t get far with Doc keeping an eye on things upstairs.”

  “Roger that.”

  Nathan looked at the buildings in the distance and then started jogging toward them. He could hear James begin moving too, headed in the opposite direction. Whoever had sent the small drone had to be nearby.

  That wasn’t his problem. His problem was Hayden. Where had the sheriff gone to ground?

  He made it to the buildings, turning left down the first alley. Doc had seen Hayden duck in this way, watching from above with the Pulse’s high-end cameras. It was too bad the angles and the density of the buildings wouldn’t let her look down the alleys to tell him which way Hayden had gone.

  Of course, if he had come out of the alleys Doc would have known, and James would have told him.

  He reached the corner of the first building, a four-story cement structure whose walls were heavily cracked and scored, the whole thing appearing as though it were ready to collapse. He scanned each side of the alley, bringing up his rifle and using its scope to get a better view. He didn’t see anything or anyone.

  There was nothing to the left, which led back out to the embankment. He put his attention to the right, looking down a long line of identical segments of alley split by secondary cross-paths. They were all identically spaced, dark and foreboding.

  He started down the passage, rifle up at his hip, the targeting reticle active in his visor. He heard someone scream in the distance. The general had found whoever he was after.

  Nathan moved deliberately along the narrow, dark path between the apartments. He glanced up, finding broken windows and cracked cement on both sides of him, the stars beyond now hidden by clouds. He couldn’t see the Pulse from here, but he could picture Doc ordering their kidnapped pilot to bring the dropship down below the cloud cover to restore their view.

  He crossed the first intersection, sweeping it the way they taught all Centurions, quickly spinning and ensuring he was clear. He studied each branch after that, using the optics of the helmet to enhance his view. The alleys were mainly empty, but there were small nooks and shadows where someone could try to hide.

  He didn’t find Hayden in any of them.

  “Relentless,” James said over the comm. “What the fuck is taking so long?”

  “I’m being cautious,” Nathan replied. “I don’t want to get shot again, and there isn’t much room to maneuver in here.”

  James laughed over the comm. “Hurry up. It’s going to start raining soon.”

  “Will you rust?”

  “Fuck you. Get your ass in gear.”

  “He hasn’t come out anywhere?”

  “Not that I’m aware.”

  “Roger.” Nathan sighed. If he were honest with himself, he would admit he was stalling. Why did he care so much about Hayden? He barely knew the man for anything. He didn’t owe him anything, either. They weren’t on the same side. Not in this.

  Was Nathan even on a side?

  He was doing this for Niobe.

  She had died to help Tinker. The more he thought about it, the more he separated the logic from the emotion, the worse the excuse seemed. Just because she had helped Tinker didn’t make Tinker right. It didn’t make any of this right.

  He was so damn conflicted, he wished somebody would come along and tell him what to do.

  But isn’t tha
t what James was doing? The General leading the Colonel. He should stop thinking about it and be a soldier. He should do as James suggested and follow orders.

  He noticed the buildings further up had depressions cut into the ground behind them — stairwells leading down to basement doors. The terrain sloped slightly, making the change in construction necessary.

  He approached the stairs on the left, looking down at the door. It was hanging open slightly, the area around the lock splintered and cracked, the lock itself dropped haphazardly on the ground. Someone had broken it to enter. Recently? Could Hayden have done it?

  He started down the steps, picking up the pace. He still had to be careful, regardless of James’ impatience.

  He reached the door, using the end of the plasma rifle to hook the area where the lock had been and pull. The door creaked on old hinges as it moved out of his way.

  If Hayden was in there, he would know someone had come for him.

  “Sheriff?” Nathan said. “Sheriff, it’s Nathan Stacker.”

  He stepped into the room, noticing water had flooded it. He swept the rifle across the space, pausing when his eyes landed on what appeared to be an old water tank — a large cylinder connected to a pipe that led up to the ceiling and through the floor.

  The world was grayscale through the night vision of his helmet, but he could see the water around it was a different shade.

  Blood?

  He had intentionally aimed wide, not wanting to shoot Hayden. He had stupidly thought Hayden would do the same. If he was hurt, it had to be the Hellion that had done it. He still couldn’t believe they had managed to kill the thing.

  “Sheriff. I don’t want to hurt you,” Nathan said, walking toward the tank. He dragged his feet so the water wouldn’t make too much noise. “If you want to talk, talk to me. Maybe I can help you.”

  He kept moving toward the machinery, angling to the wall so he could see around it.

  “Sheriff?” he said again, clearing the corner with his rifle.

  He stared into the space. Sheriff’s shirt was hanging from a piece of metal on the tank, releasing blood into the water.