by Frank Albelo
Once Delta took lead of the group, Hunter huffed his way to the front with Beta. Koma positioned himself towards the back with Delta and Marvin flanking the right and left respectively.
I will watch over them. Do not dawdle.
I heard the Calforn in my mind as the group moved deeper into the woods. I shook my head. The man obviously knew I wouldn’t stay longer than necessary, but he always felt it was necessary to point out the obvious for me.
“Alright, ladies. Let’s get this watering done.” I clapped my hands, drawing their attention before we collected the bamboo watering cans.
They contraptions had been Gamma’s idea, and with a bit of elbow grease she had even managed to get Koma to help her make a bunch. The watering cans were composed of two bamboo tubes, one that fit inside of a much wider one. The smaller tube had holes made by the Calforn where the water leaked out in a slow sprinkle. The wide one held water from their stores.
In no time, each of us held a can and were making our way through the rows. Gamma felt it was necessary to correct me on where I stepped every few or so feet, saying I was intent on crushing out future food.
Little did she know that her constant nagging about where I was stepping saved our lives.
After the third or fourth corrections from the diminutive Digit, I noticed tracks along the edge of the clearing we had made. I handed Gamma my watering can and followed them to the edge of the clearing. There were several more tracks, none of which I recognized, as I moved closer to the tree line. Out of reflex I expanded my mental sensing. Almost immediately I was floored by the signals. We were about to be surrounded.
“Gamma! Lara!” I shouted as I tried to shut off the static running through my brain. Thankfully it wasn’t a wailing like the experiments, but I wasn’t able to account for all of the mutants that were moving closer to the camp.
The women turned to me and rushed to me when they saw me kneeling by the woods. I focused as much as I could on my ears, the sounds around me coming into fine focus. A shuffling was coming from the northern portion of the wilderness, I also picked up on additional rustling from the east, and I was able to deduce what was going on.
“Mutants. They must be moving away from something or the quake disturbed them,” I managed to say.
The pair stood ramrod straight, swiveling their heads in an attempt to spot the grotesque humans. Before they could become even more rooted I shook off my mental fog, “They’re still a ways off, we need to get going.”
I urged the women and they agreed. Setting their cans down on the ground we all bolted for the city and the group that had to be ahead by almost an hour. I ran at the lead, containing my leg mutations so I could keep the women in sight, while also blazing a trail through the rougher terrain.
Only a few minutes after the start of our sprint, I heard Gamma yelp. The girl had fallen, her foot caught between two logs.
“I think it's sprained.” I could see the tears in her eyes as she tried to move her ankle around.
Without much thought or discussion of consent, I hefted the girl onto my back in a fireman carry and resume the trudge through the forest. Lara continued through the forest as fast as she could behind me.
After ten minutes I began to hear the growling and raspy yells. I paused for a second, prepared this time, and extended my mental sensing only slightly. I was scared by what was coming, but decided facing the issue head on was better. I set Gamma down between the roots of a large tree and prepared myself for the approaching mutants.
“Lara, stay with Gamma. I need you to keep her safe!” I said, looking over my shoulder briefly. The woman’s brow was furrowed, but she nodded grimly.
The next two minutes felt like an eternity.
Six mutants jumped down from the trees, all looking to tear into our group. While preparing I had collected a massive pair of tree branches from among the undergrowth. As the mutants peaked their jump I used my enhanced legs to jump up and spin in the air, swatting the group off course.
I’d been attempting to bring them directly to the ground, but I had only managed to split the mutants to either side of me. To my left were two long limbs while my right had a bone mutant, two multi arm mutants and a completely new kind of mutant.
The mutant looked like it had recently gone swimming, some kind of sweat dripped off its body and the pair of arms that grew out of its shoulder blades swung about wildly. The larger group of mutants to my right were the first to lunge, so I tossed both branches at them, pushing them back. In the span that the mixed group recovered I flew to the long limbed pair.
The two mutants were still thrown off by my leafy slap, which gave me enough time to enhance punch the closest in the face. My left fist barely slowed as it struck the creature’s temple, spraying black and gray matter all over its long armed friend. I didn’t stop the rotation of my spin and drove my fist straight into the other mutant’s chest. I heard a sick crunch as a I crushed both of the creature’s lungs with my attack.
Taking the two for dead I rushed back to the women. They had been throwing any stone they could find at the mutants while they shook off the branches. The first to get untangled was the wet mutant. I leapt into the air, winding my punch and hitting it in the chest like the long limbed mutant.
My punch threw me off balance. The mutant had somehow turned just enough for my punch to glance off of it. Stumbling forward and digging my boots into the soft mulch, I realized my hand was covered in some kind of slime. The mutant was somehow lubricating blows against it with its strange sweat. Before I could join the fight back against the slime mutant, four sets of arms wrapped around my leg.
I felt the metal plating on my leg beginning to bend slightly under the pressure of the multi limb mutant. I grew my right fist, simultaneously adding claws to the limb, as I swiveled my body to grip the creature’s head. After crushing the only part of the creature’s body not covered in limbs, its grip flagged. I kicked back with my enhanced leg, almost like a horse bucking, and sent the body of the failed Calforn into its other multi limb friend.
I had lost track of the slime mutant, but I saw the girls desperately throwing rocks at something so I assumed it hadn’t reached them yet. I saw a flash of white. Lifting my left forearm to intercept a bone plated chop from the bone mutant, I punched forward with my enhanced fist. The bone mutant was able to put up a block, causing the plating on its arm to crack and my fist to sting. Before I was able to capitalize on my opening a huge rock slammed against the side of my helmet.
I felt the world sway for a moment, and I almost blacked out. It looked like a number of the rocks the distant multi limb was throwing were not just hitting me and my armor but also the bone mutant. I leveraged my blocking arm to put the mutant between me and the hail of stones.
The idea worked. While the bone mutant was having to cover itself, its side was wide open. I flexed my claws and ripped the plating where the human’s kidney might have been. With a roar of defiance I dug my hand in and eviscerated the mutant. The creature tried to snarl in response, but it came out as a gurgle. The gurgle was cut short as another stone smacked it in the jaw, killing it.
I could feel my body growing weary. I had never cycled through so many mutations in a short amount of time and even though I had been training my abilities they still took a heavy toll. I groaned, picking up the body of the bone mutant and charging as stones and branches whizzed. One stone caught me in the shoulder, denting the armor plating of my armor. The metal dug into my skin and I felt blood begin to trickle down my arm, but I ignored it.
I felt my muscles swell and I flipped the bone mutant onto the multi armed one. A group of the creature’s limbs swatted the body to the side, causing it to wail as boney spikes stabbed it. I didn’t waste the opportunity and tackled the creature, pinning it against one of the oaks surrounding us.
Before I could snap its neck, the talons on its body ravaged every spot on my back not covered in armor. Blood flowed freely all along my upper body, but I twis
ted and pulled the creature’s head off.
The blood-soaked body of the creature slid down to the ground. Kicking the body a few feet away from me I search for the remaining mutant. I spotted the slime mutant beginning to loom closer to the girls. Lara was pulling Gamma behind her as they made their way behind some of the trees. They’d been lobbing stones at the monster but the majority had glanced past thanks to its slimy covering.
My legs trembled and I fought to stay standing through the small reprieve in battle. I grit my teeth, the iron taste of blood filling my mouth, and pushed off the ground again. I closed the distance to the others in seconds, opting to bear hug the slimy mutant instead of risking another glancing blow.
The two of us fought to stay on top, the slippery mutant excreting globs of the slime to cover us both. As I struggled to deal a killing blow, Lara rounded us and stabbed the creature through the neck with one of our wooden short spears. The creature shook violently, each spasm throwing more and more of the slime out onto the forest. Moments later the body jerked and fell to the ground.
“Well, that was some exciting gardening,” said Lara between panting breaths.
I waved my hand around in the air, hoping my agreement was understood but already feeling the exhaustion spreading throughout my body. Lara moved Gamma closer and they briefly discussed taking a break before heading back and joining the others. My addled mind barely registered their conversation as I fought to stay awake. I opened my mind to try and reach Koma, but before I could identify his mind a muted feeling much closer caught my attention.
Before my body had a chance to react, one of the long limbed mutants sprung from the underbrush around us. I felt myself leap on instinct more than will, almost like I was riding a rollercoaster, but it was already too late.
The long armed mutant grabbed Lara’s lower back, digging its talons into her skin, before ripping into her shoulder blade with inhuman jaws. Her weaved leaf coat and synthetic shirt stopped none of the damage. Lara struggled against the creature and an instant later I broke the creature’s limbs off at the elbow. The creature howled in agony as I pummeled it to the ground. My legs shuddered but I drove my enlarging fist again and again into the creature’s chest. With a final sick sucking sound my fist punched through the creature and into the muddy ground beneath.
“Alpha…” I heard Gamma’s voice coming from behind me.
I was on my knees, but I turned to look at the girl. With a spark of realization I saw Lara’s blood ebbing onto the roots around us. I flicked the gore off my hands while mentally exerting my mind to rein in my mutations. I crawled towards the youth who was cradling the dying woman, my vision darkening around the edges. I retracted my helmet, fighting to stay conscious.
“Lara, what—” I started.
The woman put a shaky hand to my lips. I could see her paling by the second. She patted Gamma in the cheek before turning back to me. “Keep doing your best. I’m sorry I… doubted you.”
She was gasping through breaths trying to finish what she was saying, “The others need you. Thanks… for giving us hope.”
She smiled weakly as blood dribbled down the corner of her mouth. I felt a burning pain in my chest as the woman continued to stare at the two of us, her eyes now glazed over in death. I could hear Gamma sobbing quietly, whimpering as she clutched her injured leg.
“It’s my fault. It’s my fault again,” she muttered.
I wanted to comfort her, to give her some solace, but my own tongue was tied. I had failed. Another life I had vowed to protect had slipped right through my fingers. Even with all the mutations I could muster, it had not been enough. I made it to Gamma and held the diminutive youth against my chest. Not caring about all the blood that covered us, she held onto me and sobbed loudly.
I held in my sorrow, feeding the anger in myself instead. I fought exhaustion off and tried to stay conscious long enough to finish recovering. My body, however, had other plans. I swayed even as Gamma held me and the only thing I managed to do was blast out a mental alert to Koma before my mind fogged over completely. The Overmind slithered into my head once again, this time it was silent but I somehow instinctively knew more.
● ● ●
When I came to, pain flared incessantly throughout my body. Every attempt to move a limb sent shooting pain racketing through me but all I managed to do was gasp. There was a quiet roaring in my ears that I realized was my blood rushing in my head after a moment of breathing. I could feel an insane throbbing flagging against my mind. After a few seconds I realized it was the Overmind, but the push was stronger than any I had felt before. I didn’t want to be completely overwhelmed so I grit my teeth again and pushed the Calforn conscience away.
I slowly opened my eyes, even the simple act sending nauseating waves of agony.
Through the blood roaring in my head I heard muted talking but all I could see without moving my head was a white colored light. Spots swam in my vision as a shape moved in to cover the blinding illumination.
“Alpha. Alpha!” said the voice, concern clear in its tone.
“Enough. He has not fully recovered. He needs to heal the damage he was dealt and what he dealt to himself” The second voice sounded unnatural, as if several people were speaking at once, but there was also a hint of concern in it.
I moved my lips, trying to mouth enough words to tell them I was fine but my tongue was swollen in my mouth. The breath after that was cold and numbing through my entire body. I submitted to the strange mix of pain and numbness.
● ● ●
The next time I was aware was when I saw Zeta standing over me, bamboo cup held to my lips. She jumped in alarm when she noticed my eyes snap open, but then she called over her shoulder for the others. Within seconds I was surrounded by our ragtag group of survivors.
Gamma, using a makeshift crutch made of a branch, stood near the back of the group. Beta and Delta were right at the front while everyone else gave me a bit of space. Koma was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey everyone,” I croaked.
Everyone spoke over themselves trying to see how I was doing. Hunter quickly silenced everyone when he cleared his throat. “I don’t need to ask you what happened. I do need to ask you if you remember anything.”
I struggled to process his question. My body was still wracked by pain, but I was at least able to connect thoughts together. As my mind booted up to a serviceable level I remembered what happened with Lara, then black and red and white flashes. I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I turned back to Hunter.
“I… no. Only what happened to Lara.” I felt pain much deeper than the one of my body. I went through all the things I could have done better, faster, stronger and my mind still came up blank. My thoughts spiraled down as I considered how I could have pushed myself higher instead of hiding my apparently enhanced strength from the others. I should have sacrificed more to gain better control of my mutations, of my mental sense, but I hadn’t.
Now Lara was gone.
“I’m sor—” Before I was able to finish my sentence Dana slapped me across the face. The pain from the actual hit was negligible but it knocked me out of my reverie. The entire group must have been watching the ghost cross my face as their expressions turned grim. Our ramshack cook had tears streaming down her face as she locked eyes with me.
“We know what happened. Don’t cheapen yourself or what Lara did before she… died.” The woman choked on the last word but mustered the strength to continue. “She believed in what we were doing. What you could do. Before you all found us we were living day to day. Even with Hunter the trips out to look for
food were becoming more dangerous. Until you all arrived.”
I could tell she wanted to say more but she was sobbing now. I saw Galileo put a protective arm around her as he held her, cries echoing into his worn shirt. The man faced me, unshed tears threatening to fall in his eyes.
“Lara knows you did your best. We all know you did your best, even after your body gave up,” the man said.
There was mute silence in the room, even Dana had stopped crying at the mention of what I had done. I tried to move past my sorry, sitting up a bit to better face the group. “What aren’t you all telling me?”
This time it was Gamma who moved closer to speak. “You went on a rampage.”
I was floored by the revelation. “Wait, then what happened. How are you okay, did Koma make it in time I remember—”
“Koma didn’t arrive for at least twenty minutes.” The girl’s voice was barely a whisper as she continued to recount what I had done.