by Logan Castle
“Yes sir,” Nunez said, now on his feet but still appearing shaky.
I slid myself to one corner of the cockpit while Bardham and Nunez went about dragging the group of people onto their feet. One by one, they quickly escorted them into the belly of the enormous helicopter right alongside me. Peering into the faces of the people, I noted they were all too disheveled, and in some cases too bloodied, to be identified even by someone who might have known them. The loud, raucous breathing of one man, however, was far too familiar for me not to know instantly who he was.
“Doc!” I shouted out.
A tired face looked up at me, somehow hearing my voice even over the screeching that had to still be ringing through his head. Recognizing me, he gave me an exasperated look and spoke through tightly clenched teeth. “Don’t… don’t call me “doc”…”
I gave him a wide grin, grateful to have a somewhat familiar face aboard. I quickly looked away, deciding instead to allow him to convalesce on his own. Having completed the task of loading up the survivors, Bardham and Nunez climbed into the helicopter.
“Lynn, get us out of here! Nunez, keep an eye on him,” Bardham barked, pointing a finger at me.
Nunez’s acknowledgement to Bardham’s order was swallowed whole by the sudden intensifying of helicopter blades. As Bardham sank heavily into the seat opposite Lynn, I felt my stomach plunge as the helicopter once again raised up onto its haunches. Nunez positioned himself directly across from me, eyes locked firmly upon me.
We were just about to lift off when my eyes were inexplicably drawn back to the ground below, more specifically the gaping hole we had all dragged ourselves from. It was dark and ominous but otherwise deathly still. While not even the slightest movement came from it, my skull was suddenly filled with a blaring cry, like that of an alarm clock sounding at the crack of dawn. I was immediately possessed by a sudden overwhelming anxiety, a feeling that bordered on certainty that there was someone else down there.
That’s ridiculous! How can you possibly know that?! Just tune it out and let Bardham get us the hell out of here!
I really tried to convince myself of that. There was nothing more I wanted than to be gone from this place, to silence the siren that was now wracking my brain and stem the tide of this dark sense of foreboding that threatened to consume me. Even as I fought to do that, I found myself eyeing the sentry who now sat opposite me, considering his position and how I could best get myself back to the ground below. I couldn’t explain it or where it came from but despite my very best efforts to just sit there and be silent, new life exploded into my exhausted limbs and my voice suddenly sprang from my throat.
“Wait! I think…There’s someone still down there!” I cried out, cursing myself even as the words flew from my lips.
No immediate response or acknowledgement of my words came from Bardham or Lynn. Nunez meanwhile just continued to eye me with a squinted, watchful glare, his hand resting on an imposing sidearm that resided just above his hip. I felt the plane lurch upwards, the feeling of anxiety within me growing exponentially with every rising inch off the ground.
Well, you tried, I yelled to myself. But it wasn’t going to be that easy; the alarm wasn’t going to be silenced. I couldn’t fight it anymore. I had to act. As if my limbs were not acting on their own volition, I moved towards the exit of the helicopter. Nunez’s hand was a blaze of speed, instantly griping the hilt of his weapon and moving to point it in my direction.
I didn’t think. I simply reacted. My right foot swung forwards, kicking the gun from Nunez’s hand just as it bore down on me. It flew upwards into the air from the sheer force of my kick. As if anticipating its trajectory, I was already reaching into the air for the gun even as Nunez was still tumbling backwards from the shock of my kick. My outstretched fingers wrapped perfectly around its beveled base and I faintly registered the sounds of sharp intakes from the people lying around me as they realized what was transpiring. Pulling the gun down from the air, I immediately pointed the gun at the now advancing Nunez. He froze instantly.
“Set the plane down! Now!” I yelled it specifically to Bardham and Lynn, making sure it was loud enough for them to hear me.
I didn’t hesitate after that, my legs galloping quickly through the belly of the helicopter and leaping from the suspended aircraft to the hard ground just bordering the gaping hole. I briefly questioned where this energy was coming from, how I was suddenly able to block out the pain that plagued every inch of my body. It was a fleeting thought, however, and I quickly dropped onto my belly, looking downwards into the hole itself. I knew someone was still down there.
As I peered into the hole, and just as I felt the weight of the helicopter come back down behind me, a slender hand appeared from the hole, darting right past my face. I was only momentarily startled though. I dropped the gun still clenched in my hand onto the ground at my side and extended my right hand to tightly clasp onto the bicep of the outstretched arm. Securing my shoulder and with a tooth clinching groan I yanked violently upwards. As I pulled, the form of a thin, short woman with brown hair and wearing nothing but rags was slowly pulled into the daylight.
“Oh god, thank you! Thank you!” she screamed hysterically at me. I was still attempting to help her free when Bardham and Nunez finally rushed over. Bardham pushed me aside, making sure to secure her in his powerful grip before doing so, and pulled her completely free of the hole. Once her feet were firmly on the ground, both men whirled on me.
But I had already picked up the gun I had previously discarded onto the ground and was pointing it steadily in their direction. Bardham’s eyes grew thin and I could see every muscle in his body tense up and flare out. Nunez looked even more uncomfortable, clearly stewing over the fact that he’d allowed me to get the drop on him in the way I had. I could’ve stood there for a lot longer, relishing the fact that I was finally in control of a situation, a feeling I had not had in what felt like an eternity. But I knew we were on borrowed time, that whatever was pursuing us would be upon us. Besides, I had made my point.
“I am not your enemy,” I said to them, and abruptly twisted the gun so that the handle and trigger was extended to them.
Both men stared blankly at me for a long series of seconds. Bardham reached suddenly forwards, seizing the gun from me in a blinding motion that my eyes couldn’t follow. My breath caught…but I didn’t flinch. Even as he pointed the black revolver in my direction, I stood perfectly still and unblinking back at him. Bardham scowled and beckoned in the direction of the helicopter.
“Get in there!” Bardham shouted furiously at me and the woman, who now looked as though she were going to dance from sheer joy at the timing of her fortuitous rescue.
I felt the breath that had been trapped within me release itself from the clutches of my throat and the pain that had previously left me instantly returned. I didn’t know what had come over me in these past moments or what could possibly have alerted me to the fact that there was indeed someone still in that hole and, even less so, what force had possessed me into such quick and decisive action. And I didn’t care to know. What I did know was that I had given Bardham and everyone watching a sign, a show of faith that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t the man they presumed me to be. While my sudden action was something I would absolutely marvel at later, the end result of that action was such that it would allow me some peace during the duration of the ride to wherever it was we were going.
As the woman and I turned toward the helicopter, a sheepish grin flashed across her giddy face. She practically skipped over to the helicopter before climbing in. As she did so, I couldn’t help but notice her petite, bouncy figure as she settled herself into the belly of the helicopter. Her large brown eyes gave her almost a cartoonish look but there was no doubt about the fact that, despite the rags that barely clung to her body, she was clearly attractive. I did take note however that, even though she had had to trudge through the very same sewage we all had to get here, she wasn’t at all as muddy
and filth covered as we were. If our situation wasn’t so urgent in that moment, I would’ve asked her how she had come to be so fortunate. I stunk and, probably right in line with everyone else outside of her, didn’t even want to guess as to the nature of filth that had enveloped us in those sewers.
“There’s someone else down there!” Nunez’s voice suddenly rang out just as I’d managed to sit myself down.
“It’s Larry!” Bardham shouted as he peered over the edge of the hole, a twisted hand with a long rail thin forearm stretching forth from it.
Bardham quickly reached down and grasped the fingers of the outstretched hand, and then pulled. Sure enough, once he came into view, I saw it was indeed Larry’s face. He was clearly disoriented, even underneath so much dirt and grime. His face was puffy and bruised, and I presumed it was from the beating he received from my fists. As Bardham pulled and Larry emerged, legs thrashing wildly, I could just make out a bone chilling howl over the gusting wind produced by the helicopter blades.
“Lift me up! Lift me up! Please god, they’re here!!!!”
Bardham had nearly placed him on his feet when something glinting shot through the opening in the ground and grasped one of Larry’s legs, yanking it back into the ground. I saw Larry’s face contort with surprise and then horror. A blood-curdling scream erupted from his mouth as he was pulled back down. Bardham somehow maintained his grip, but as strong as Bardham was, Larry’s bottom half still disappeared back into the hole.
“Nunez! Help me!” Bardham shouted out.
Nunez sprang forward but just as he reached them, Bardham was launched backwards onto the ground with Larry right alongside him. It took me a moment to figure out what happened. When Bardham got back onto his feet, he tossed Larry to the ground and I couldn’t restrain the vomit that spewed from my mouth and splatted on the steel floor.
Only Larry’s upper half made it out of the hole. His waist had been severed and blood sprayed everywhere while his entrails hung out like ribbons. The expression in Larry’s eyes of absolute terror and confusion was truly frightening to behold. His mouth was open and a scream emerged from his throat.
He was as good as dead; he was the only one that didn’t know it.
Bardham, looking like he would retch too, took a few shaky steps away from Larry’s half corpse before quickly recovering himself. “Nunez, get us out of here! I’ll take the rear. Go!!”
Nunez darted past me to the front of the plane and took the pilot seat next to a shell-shocked Lynn. Bardham hopped into the helicopter, grabbed his gun and perched right at the cabin door, his gun pointed squarely at the sewer opening.
A sudden glint of sunlight reflecting metal struck my eyes and I squinted to combat the nuisance. Almost as quickly as it appeared, the glimmer was gone. At first and for a fleeting second, I assumed it was just a ray of sunlight hitting the helicopter at such an angle that it impaired my vision. Despite how badly I wanted that to be the case, of course it wasn’t.
From the hole in the ground where the reflection originated, a terrifying visage rose to confront us. Its face looked like a misguided experiment gone terribly wrong. It had a jagged line of torn flesh separating its distinctly human features from robotic components. Comprised of two clearly different and clashing philosophies, the marriage of the two concepts combined to create a face that would have sent even the bravest warriors running in the other direction. For me, however, there was nowhere to run. Even if I could, I was paralyzed and strangely mesmerized by the sight before me.
Immediately, my eyes were blinded by the metal side of the thing’s face when it gleamed in the light of the sun. Atop its head was an almost too symmetrical break between the silver dome that was its robot skull and the patchy, black hair. It was woven into its skull by what appeared to be the world’s worst seamstress. A gigantic red eye was sitting where there should have been a human one and it peered back at me. I followed the line that separated the halves of its face. From a protruding metal cheekbone, it went down to an opening that I assumed was its mouth. Exposed teeth, like a hundred small, pointed daggers, glistened back at me. I nearly gagged when I glimpsed inside the left temple of its face. I could see flesh and brain matter attached to wires and gears, all flickering with electronic currents and spinning furiously before my eyes. I choked back my initial disgust and tore my eyes from it only to find a very human eye on the other side of its face staring right back at me.
For a single moment that spanned painfully into eternity, I felt crushed underneath its lidless but unfaltering gaze. It was something that I could never begin to imagine even in my worst nightmares. The very second that its single eye locked onto mine, I had the horrifying feeling that I was the only one who mattered to it. Its eye, a dead, grey aberration, widened at the sight of me. That seemed to spur the rest of it into action. I wanted desperately to look away and close my eyes. I wished I was anywhere else, yet despite my indescribable horror, I couldn’t rip my eyes off it. The corners of its mouth curved upwards ever so slightly, exposing rotted, sharp yellow teeth. Not even the maddest of men could have called it a smile.
Just as I expected something to come from its mouth, a gunshot rang out. The creature’s head suddenly exploded into blood, gore and electrical components. It struggled briefly, as if resisting the notion of its own death before falling to the ground below and out of sight. I began shaking violently as I suddenly stared at the smoking barrel of Bardham’s gun. He did not return my glare, but simply watched where the head had previously been, as if to make sure it wouldn’t pop up again. It didn’t.
“One shot, one kill. No luck, all skill,” he muttered to himself, distantly.
“What the fuck was that?!” I asked, finally finding my voice.
“You should know,” he responded with disdain. “It was one of your own.”
“A Cypher,” Lynn chimed in, giving me an annoyed nod.
“If we want to make it out of here alive, get us into the goddamn air already!!” Barnham bellowed to Nunez and Lynn.
Nunez replied with a muffled affirmative and the helicopter suddenly leaned backwards as I once again experienced the feeling of weightlessness before we rose quickly into the air. In a flash, Bardham grabbed something from his belt loop. Before I could make it out, he threw it into the hole below us. A few moments later, there was an explosion and I watched the ground crashing down. It swallowed the landing pad whole, which we had literally just been perched on …and Larry’s body disappeared right along with it.
“Will that kill them?” I shouted.
“Just watch!” Bardham said tensely.
I shut my mouth and looked back over the edge of the cockpit at the ground below. As I stared down holding my breath, I couldn’t make out any movement but that didn’t last long. I leaned forward to get a better look. There was so much rock and debris, with some motion as if I were observing a hilltop crawling with ants. Suddenly, wave after wave of the same creatures that first came out of the hole began to take form. It started with only a few but pretty soon, the entire ground below was crawling with them. They were all trying to climb up from the destruction that had been caused by Bardham’s explosion. From our current altitude, I could just barely make out their faces. They were all different but shared one thing in common: the same hideous hybridization of human and robot. I watched with fascination and disgust as a few of them, completely freed from the wreckage, lifted arms that glinted in the sunlight in our direction.
“Evasive maneuvers! Lynn, switch with me!!” Bardham yelled out suddenly.
In the blink of an eye, Bardham and Lynn had risen to switch places. I turned my head to acknowledge Lynn but she didn’t even bother looking at me, instead hurriedly positioning herself right alongside me. I opened my mouth to say something to her but her eyes were focused on something else. Perplexed, I followed her gaze and realized she was warily observing the ground below us. I felt my brow furrow as I glanced back to the Cyphers. Certainly we are too far a
way for them to still be a concern?
As if in response to my silent query, the Cyphers’ arms suddenly changed. What had been an eclectic assortment of human/robot hybrid arms one moment was morphing in a nauseating twisting of iron and flesh. I felt my mouth drop in shock as what was now pointed at us was a small army of double barreled shotguns.
“What the fu…?!” I started to shout.
Just as I yelled, bullets flew from the guns that were now the Cyphers’ arms. I was suddenly flung backwards and then off to the side as Nunez and Bardham maneuvered the helicopter to avoid them. While a few ricocheted off the steel plating on the helicopter’s exterior, we were too far up in the air for any of them to reach us. Within moments, they completely disappeared as we sped further and faster away.
The danger must have passed. At least, I was fairly certain it had because the humming sound that was coming from the black box in Lynn’s clenched fist became deadly silent. Despite that, I found it difficult to sit back and just relax. I glanced over at the huddled figures of the other passengers. Carter was sitting with his arms wrapped around his legs, which were tightly pressed against his chest. His head was resting on his arms and he seemed to be shifting nervously from side-to-side. I almost spoke to him, hoping that conversation might alleviate the stress for both of us, but I thought better of it. Even he, whom I suspected must have seen his fair share of the Cyphers, probably needed the comfort of silence before he could work his way through such a harrowing ordeal.
There were two other passengers which were closest to me. A man and a woman. They clung to each other tightly, their heads on each other’s shoulder, blocking the view of their faces from my sight. If the danger had truly passed, you would have never known it by looking at them. They were petrified with fear. I fastened my gaze on them, silently envying their intimacy even at the height of such terror. The clear bond that they shared allowed them to rely on each other, to comfort each other that everything was going to be all right, even if it wasn’t the truth.