Boneyards & Badlands: The Complete FTW Series

by Morgan Hobbes

  I turn my attention away from Bishop and back at the scrappers digging into their strawberry feast and I smile crosses my face. I’m sitting next to Kara and her fingers intertwine with min. She squeezes my hand.

  “You are unbelievable, you know that?” she says.

  Everyone has been saying similar things for hours now. Ever since I pushed Jameson to his death, people have been telling me how extraordinary I am.

  I don’t think I’m extraordinary. I’m just an ordinary person put in an extraordinary situation, so I try not to think about how lucky we got or how easily things could have gone in a different direction.

  The pain in my shoulder has lessened. The medic who came and patched me up said it should be healed by morning.

  It sounds like rubbish but he said the compound he injected into the wound acts like replacement skin and bone. It’ll form a perfect seal and will be indistinguishable from the rest of me. I guess I’ll know tomorrow if it’s the truth or not.

  I keep thinking how close we came to losing our lives, all of us. Maybe that’s why everyone is now partying so hard. They’ve realized just how quickly life can be cut short and now want to make the most of it.

  Following that thought I squeeze Kara’s hand in reply and pull her close. She grins at me and our lips mash together, and I gently lean us back until we’re lying on the floor.

  Our arms wrap around each other and I press my lips against her neck. She shivers in response and goosebumps breakout along her arms.

  As I nuzzle her neck, my head is suddenly heavy and my mind spins. It’s been a long day, I tell myself. I open my eyes to force myself awake, and everyone is doing a similar thing.

  The last thing I see before I pass out is my scrapper army collapsing to the floor and a hazy mist descending from the ceiling.

  16 - Cells

  Reality leaks into my brain, drifting in as if on a gentle breeze from miles away.

  Eventually I’m lucid enough to find I’m lying flat on a cold, concrete floor. My eyes adjust to the gloom and focus on the bars in front of me.

  There’s no longer any pain in my shoulder. I poke at where there should be a bullet wound and it feels like it’s back to normal.

  I’m in a cell, barely larger than I am, concrete on all sides except the door. I get to my knees and press my head against the bars.

  Seven other cells are spaced evenly around the circular room. In the cell to my right is Kara, still unconscious. The other six cells contain men, who have just noticed I’m awake.

  They’re up against the bars and hollering at me to look at them, telling me to do crude things for them. They say they can’t wait to get to the surface and meet me and Kara in person. They’re just like hounds, but look nowhere near as healthy.

  I ignore them as best I can but their yelling is relentless. Eventually Kara stirs and they direct some of their hostility towards her.

  Kara sits up with a start and scoots backwards from the cell door. A second later she relaxes. She must have realized the men can’t get to her.

  She stands up and walks towards to the cell door, then pokes her arm through the bars and gives them the finger. It does nothing to shut them up.

  “Kara, are you okay?” I call to her.

  Kara prods and pokes parts of her body, feeling for injuries.

  “I’m not hurt, well at least I don’t think so. My brain is pounding like it’s trying to escape my head though. What the hell happened?”

  “I think we got gassed up in Jameson’s office. I remember people passing out.”

  Before she can respond a floor panel in the middle of the round room outside our cells slides away, revealing a dark pit. The hollering from the men dies down as they wait for what’s coming.

  A few seconds pass quietly before an eight-sided screen rises out of the ground and turns itself on. We’re greeted with the faces of Jameson and Reed.

  I shoot a confused look at Kara who’s looking back at me equally confused. It’s impossible. How are they still alive? I pushed Jameson from the window myself, and I know Reed wasn’t getting up again.

  Yet here they are like none of that happened.

  Unless...

  But before I can finish that thought, Reed clears his throat like he’s ready to talk.

  “Gentlemen,” Reed says, “and ladies of course,” and he has to pause while the men in the room hoot and holler once again. “We’d like to thank you for volunteering for this week’s Death Match. Everyone here, your fellow competitors are all playing for the same thing. Freedom and a complete pardon for all your numerous crimes.

  “We know that none of you will be familiar with the concept of Death Matches. The knowledge is way out of your price range. They’re something we put on solely for the elite members of our society, which you most certainly are not. It’s available only to those who can afford the prices we charge.

  “So, let’s go over the rules. Only one person can win, so be as brutal as you need to be. Bonuses of credits and prizes are awarded for unique kills, especially those with extreme brutality. You can collect the bonuses if you’re the sole surviving participant. The more extreme you make it the bigger the payout. That’s what your fans are looking for.”

  The men chuckle at this, saying they’ll be more than happy to deliver extreme violence. One particularly ugly one shows what he’d like to do to Kara by thrusting his crotch against the bars of his cell.

  “So let’s go over the rules of the game,” Reed continues. “The collars you’re wearing are explosive. Try to remove them and your head will go with it. Don’t test us on this, believe me.”

  As if on cue the man in the cell directly opposite mine shouts “bullshit” and tugs on his collar. He grips it with both hands and his muscles flex to their limit.

  There’s the briefest of tearing sounds before an explosive charge detonates and his head turns to mist.

  I jump back as far as I can as blood erupts from his cell and into the central room. Fortunately none of it reaches me.

  The headless man collapses with a thud while on screen Reed is laughing.

  “There’s always one,” Reed says, chuckling. “Side bets for those who had prisoner seven will pay out shortly. Meanwhile, if we can get back to it. Contestants, you’ll soon find yourself in a boneyard. We’ve removed all other inhabitants for the duration of the game so it’ll be only yourselves in there.

  “Stationed around the yards are pylons, which you’ll notice have either green or red lights. The pylons mark out zones of the yard. Green zones are safe, red... well you won’t want to be in a zone when it turns red. The zones are randomly changed each hour, indicated by an alarm sounding for thirty seconds prior.

  “If you refuse to participate, we will change the zones before the hour is up to force you into the open. If you’re caught inside a zone when it turns red your collar will activate and you’ll end up like number seven over there.”

  Grumbles and murmurs from the other cells indicates everyone has understood.

  “Finally, to make things fair for the girls we’ve given them a weapons package mind augmentation so they’re now skilled in hand-to-hand combat along with a few other specialties, so boys, don’t let their size fool you. They’re probably deadlier than you are now. That’s all for now, best of luck to you all.”

  The screens around the room turn off, except for the one facing me. Jameson and Reed look out from it at me.

  “Echo,” Jameson says.

  “What?” I spit back.

  “Let me assure you, there is no way out for you. Even if by some miracle you and your bitch girlfriend survive to the end, you will die. We’ve got contingencies if the two remaining at the end refuse to fight. We let the audience decide, and we’ll make sure it’s a tie and kill you both.”

  Before I can respond a mist pumps into the room and I pass out.

  17 - Death Match

  This time when I wake the sun is shining bright in the sky. It burns its way into my eye
s. I squint to block out some of the light and find I’m back in a boneyard. Giant piles of old aircars and twisted metal surround me.

  My wrists are bound tight behind my back, holding me against a metal pole that extends high above my head. I struggle against my bindings but they don’t budge.

  I blink a few times and my eyesight clears. Towering above each stack are the pylons Reed talked about. They’re spread out evenly and so far each of them has green lights facing towards me.

  Off in the distance Kara is in the same predicament. She’s about sixty feet from me, tied to a matching pole.

  From everywhere Reeds voice fills the air.

  “Death Match will begin in forty-five seconds.”

  As he says the final word the pole I’m tied to retracts into the ground, sliding its way past the rope binding my wrists. I glance towards Kara and hers is doing the same. I’m itching to get away from this and over to her. There’s a grinding noise from the base of my pole and it stops retracting.

  I look up and it still towers a good six feet above me. If it doesn’t start moving again soon, I’m an easy target.

  I call out to Kara. The pole has retracted completely, and she’s now lying on the ground.

  She maneuvers her bound hands down near her butt and then pulls them over her legs. With her hands now in front she jumps to her feet and looks in my direction.

  When she sees I’m still bound to the pole she runs towards me, grabbing a piece of metal from a garbage pile on the way.

  Just before she gets to me klaxons blare out from the tops of the pylons. The lights facing me have turned red.

  “Hey babe, need help?” Kara says skidding to a halt in front of me.

  She grips the shard of metal in her hands and saws away at my rope.

  “Hurry! Thirty seconds and this zone will go live,” I shout, not taking my eyes off the lights.

  The rope gives way under the constant sawing of metal and I’m free. I grab Kara by the hand and together we sprint towards a safe zone.

  Three loud beeps fill the air and we dive at where we think the zone boundary is. As the third beep rings out there’s an explosion off in the distance. Someone must not have been fast enough.

  “Participant number four is eliminated. Remaining contestants, your odds are now one in seven,” Reed’s voice echoes out across the boneyard.

  Kara looks at me while I hack away at the ropes on her wrists.

  “We’ve got to move, and find somewhere to hold out until our odds are better,” she says.

  “And then what?” I reply. “You heard Reed. Even if both of us make it, they’ll kill one of us anyway.”

  I let out a loud, final grunt as the makeshift knife cuts through the last of the rope, and it falls away from Kara. She massages her wrists, not answering me.

  “I don’t want to think about that now,” she says at last. “Come, let’s get to the top of the pile over there and see what we can see,” Kara says, pointing to a large one to the east.

  I drop my protests for now and we jog over to the pile and scramble up its height. The top of proves to be a great look out. We have a clear line of sight in every direction while staying hidden from view.

  We stay there for an hour, crouching and silently looking for threats until a klaxon rings out, signaling the thirty second warning.

  I curse and am about to leave our hideout when Kara points towards the top of a pylon facing us.

  “It’s still green. We’re safe, this zone isn’t changing,” she says.

  I breathe a sigh of relief and sit down again. As the klaxon turns to beeps the remaining four men run into view, each coming from a different direction.

  They can’t see each other yet, but they’re converging on a central point.

  “They’re being herded towards us,” I say under my breath.

  The four men run into each other at speed, and they instantly change from flee to fight in a heartbeat.

  The ferocity with which they attack each other is horrific. One in particular who towers above the rest is like a killing machine.

  He smashes his gigantic fists at whoever comes close to him and they are sent flying backwards.

  The fight unfolds quickly over the next few minutes. One man drops after another until only the big guy is left standing.

  He’s breathing heavily and covered in blood and gore. He looks even more dangerous than he did before the fight. I don’t rate our chances of success.

  The big guy moves away from the carnage at his feet. The collars of the dead guys explode, making the scene somehow even worse.

  “Participants one, five and eight are eliminated. Remaining contestants, your odds are now one in four,” Reed’s voice rings out across the boneyard.

  “Ladies!” the big guy sings out, putting his hands up against his face to help throw his voice. “I’m ready for you now.” He punctuates this by grabbing his crotch.

  “Good news is he doesn’t look like he knows where we are. Bad news is there’s no way we can take him,” I say to Kara.

  Kara smiles at me.

  “You got an upgrade, remember? You got a whole heap of new skills you don’t even know about yet. Together we can take him. We just need to pick our moment.”

  “Wait a minute,” I say. “Reed said one in four.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, there’s only three of us left. Number seven died before we started and number four died right at the beginning. We saw the big guy who I guess is number six, kill numbers one, five, and eight. So five dead, three remaining. How is that one in four?”

  The big guy walking around below us keeps calling out for us to make it easy for him and he’ll kill us quick.

  “They must have replaced number seven before we started. Means there’s still one other guy out there. The big guy down there doesn’t know that though, he hasn’t worked it out.”

  “Okay, so that’s one advantage we’ve got. No idea how we can use it yet though,” Kara says.

  “Look,” I say pointing at a pylon. “There’s another green zone. If we sneak down this side, he won’t see us and we can get away from him.”

  Kara nods her approval and together we make our way down the pile. The big guy on the other side is still shouting out to us.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are! I’d prefer to screw you while you still got a head, but so long as you’re warm I’ll make do.”

  We hit the bottom of the pile and burst into a sprint towards a green zone. We want to put as much distance as we can between us and the psycho on the other side.

  Once we’re deeper into the piles, we slow to a jog. It’s easier to find places to hide when you’re not running flat out. Every pile we pass doesn’t look suitable though, so we keep moving on.

  As we round a slight bend Kara grabs my shoulder and pulls me up. I’m so focused on looking everywhere else I didn’t see that the zone we were seconds from entering is red.

  “That was close,” she says.

  We catch our breath and scan the nearest pylons for green lights. Everywhere except the zone we’re in is red.

  “Damn it, they’re forcing us to stay here,” I say.

  A metal-on-metal scraping comes from behind us.

  We turn and find a new face. A man, larger than the big guy we’ve been running from is there leering at us and holding a makeshift metal club.

  “I guess this is the replacement number seven,” I whisper to Kara.

  “Well look at this,” the new number seven says. “You must be some kind of bonus round. Come closer so I can get a better look at you girls.”

  “Stand your ground,” Kara says. “We need to make him come to us.”

  “Why?”

  It’s not that I’m in any rush to meet him, I just don’t see the advantage. Kara chances a brief look in my direction.

  “You’ve got the killer new skills now babe, remember? They’ve implanted new memories. You only need to call them up. Believe you have them, think of
using them and they’ll come flooding in. Believe me.”

  I concentrate and block out everything around me. The piles of garbage, Number Seven blocking our path ahead, the red zone blocking our backs. It’s not working.

  Suddenly it’s obvious I’m doing it wrong. I need to concentrate on everything, not block it out. I have to know what’s around me before I can work out how to defeat it.

  I open my eyes and really look at my surroundings. Piles of garbage. Number Seven. The red zone. Piles of garbage. Number Seven. The red zone. Piles of garbage. Number Seven. The red...

  “Ah, the red zone,” I whisper and Kara nods.

  “We need to use his bulk against him. If we can get his momentum up, we’re close enough to the red zone he might just wind up there before he can stop.”

  “Come on,” Number Seven calls out. “I promise I won’t bite. Much.”

  “How do we get him here, he’s not moving?” I ask.

  Kara smirks.

  “I’ve got a better idea,” Kara calls back to Number Seven. “How about instead you come on over to us? You going to make two little girls like us do all the work? Come on you big, sexy thing. Come and get us!”

  He doesn’t take the bait. Instead he stands there glaring at us, thumping the metal club into his hand.

  I look at Kara and shrug.

  “Time to kick it up a notch,” she says, turning around to face away from number seven.

  “What are you going to do?”

  Kara winks at me then slowly bends over, running her hands down her legs and back up again. Then, still bent in half, she grabs her ass cheeks with her hands and squeezes them.

  I glance over towards Number Seven. His glare has turned from hatred into one I’ve seen on the faces of hounds. His tongue is hanging out, and he’s making licking motions in the air.

  Kara runs her thumbs around the top of her pants then presses down as if she’s about to take them off. They slip half an inch, exposing a little more skin.