by Ric Beard
She wanted him to find her?
“Pick up the pace, big guy,” she whispered. “We don’t have all night.”
It was at that moment Sean Stone, formerly William Graves, standing on familiar earth where he’d been born 124 years earlier, realized his sister was out of her fucking mind. She was crazier than a shit house rat. If crazy were catnip, the kitties would do a zany dance around her on their hind legs to get a piece.
Lexi was still squatting, her knees spread wide, with her left elbow perched on her left knee. Sean tilted his head to follow the line of her right arm from the shoulder to where her hand dangled at her hip. She was holding a knife—no, that wasn’t a knife—that was called a karambit. He could see the polished wooden handle curving out from her palm, the thick, curved blade reaching underneath her thigh. He knew that blade. Their uncle brought that back from Indonesia when they were kids, living within a hundred miles of this spot. Life really was a cycle. Sean had no idea where on her person she’d been hiding that thing.
Sean watched them like an old world’s tennis match. With Lexi’s black suit painting her silhouette against the white snow on the ground behind her, it wasn’t going to take long for the giant to see her. He reached for his rifle.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Lexi whispered. The tone in her voice froze Sean’s hand.
“You really are fucking crazy.”
Lexi didn’t respond. Sean’s eyes danced back and forth between the giant and the crouched woman in the black combat suit fifteen feet away. His hands trembled. Lexi was the anchor to what was good in his past. She was a symbol of what he had longed for, someone he could actually be close to, establish ties with. For ninety-eight years he’d bounced around, never staying in the same place for fear of his secret being discovered. He never let himself get close enough to anyone lest he become a guinea pig, end up cast out as a demon, or be burned at the stake at the hands of the spiritual nut jobs in the western townships. Now there were three people who shared his secret. Three people he could be with, a community. He’d be fucking damned if this gargantuan son of a bitch was going to ruin—
Sean’s heart jumped into his throat as Lexi launched herself out of the crouch in the direction of the giant.
Chapter Ninety-Five
You'll Kill Us All
The gate shuddered open, whining on the massive hinges as it split up the middle and swung outward. Kade stood at the corner of the wall, next to the gate, a long line of civilians in a huddled mass behind him and the fifty soldiers of the lone expeditionary unit who were home on leave, before him.
“Wait for it,” he heard Davies say in his ear. “They’re coming.”
The gate screeched to a halt and Kade leaned into the wall, his heart thumping in his chest. He swore he heard the marching feet of the bastard hordes as they moved like a swarm toward the city gates. He looked back and saw the sweating faces of the citizenry, holding their weapons at their chests, their eyes wide, pervasive fear spreading throughout.
Twenty feet away, he saw a teenage boy, shaking visibly, wielding his rifle and looking at Kade with his eyebrows raised, seeking consolation with his eyes. Kade nodded at him. The boy paused and then nodded curtly, adjusting his rifle. It was then that Kade saw the rifle was a JenCorp 8500S, the newest breed.
A pulse rifle.
His heart exploded in his chest, and his eyes went wide.
“Lieutenant Vaughn,” Davies voice said into the earpieces of the expeditionary crew. “Do it!”
Kade shot off the wall and grabbed the rifle from the boy who struggled to hold it.
“You’ll get us all killed!” Kade yelled, the crowd around him shuddering away as he ripped the rifle from the boy’s grasp and shoved him to the ground. Kade turned and ran for the gate, toward the end of the closed-in cages through which people had to pass in order to enter or leave Triangle City on foot. He reached the end of the fencing and kicked open the exterior chain link door. He turned the corner and faced west, into the mouth of the horde beast advancing on the city.
The Chain reached far. The Chain reached wide. Its members covered the land as far as he could see, and upon the view of this single man running out into the lights outside the gate, the whole lot of them froze in a wave from front to back. To his right and left, Kade could see the JenCorp pulse rifles spread along the ground outside the wall, prizes for the oncoming horde to claim as apparent symbols of surrender from the citizens of the city.
Kade took the rifle by the nylon strap, turned in a full circle to get momentum, and flung it into the night sky.
Chapter Ninety-Six
A Man Possessed
The box sat in her lap with the code displayed in bright green text on the industrial compression glass display. Her finger hovered above the device. She looked back down at the gate and paused. With the zoom activated on her SmartGlasses, she could see that the man running toward the fence was Kade. He looked like a man possessed as he tore into the cage and ran toward the outside, tossing a rifle in the direction of advancing horde. The front ranks were sent straggling in to collect the pulse rifles and were currently no more than fifty yards from the wall.
Taking a final look up at The Chain bearing down on the city, Reagan Vaughn pushed the button.
Chapter Ninety-Seven
Do It Slow
Sean’s eyes were wide as he ripped the rifle off his shoulder and watched his sister launch into the air like a wildcat leaping at a grizzly. He fumbled the rifle as he tried to get a grip and knew he was too late.
Lexi swung out a hand and brought it up in an arc as the giant halted and reared back with the axe. The two collided, and Lexi’s body slammed into the man’s chest as if it were a side of beef. The axe dropped from the giant’s hand, and he reached toward his throat. A wide slit parted and a rush of blood gushed down his chest; he stumbled backwards, more blood spewing out between his fingers as he crashed onto the ground with a thud. Sean looked up to see if anyone had heard, and saw his sister silently jogging toward the missile launcher as if nothing had happened.
“What sort of fuckery was that?” Sean whispered.
“I’ve taken enough beatings for one week. Let’s go.” She trudged on and, without looking back. “‘Fuckery?’ Really?” She chuckled.
Sean had a fleeting thought that her laugh sounded wrong somehow. Then, seeing the way she passed on the earth with no sound, the way she moved so fluidly and without hesitation, and the way she launched so accurately into the air and ripped the gash into the giant’s throat, of course it sounded wrong.
Machines don’t laugh. So much for the little girl he once knew.
Lexi tried talking him into staying beneath the tree line but realized soon enough he wasn’t going to be convinced. So, they crept up to the back of the launcher in a low crouch. She’d reached into her pack, pulled out a box, and handed it to him.
“Peel here, and push it into the wheel well above the back right tire. If we do it quietly, we walk out of here without anyone having seen us.”
“Except for the guy whose throat you just ripped out.”
“Yeah, except for him.” Her voice was emotionless, level, and steady. The determination in her eyes combined with her set chin was a depiction of unwavering focus. “I’ll crawl under the launcher and put mine there.”
They turned toward the launcher and took one step before a man in leather and denim circled around the back of the machine carrying an old-school rifle with a scope. The rifle rested on his shoulder as his casual gait cut a trail in the snow that was already packed down around the base of the launcher.
“Guess we’ll have to handle him,” Lexi said.
Sean watched as she reached into a fold of material behind her back and yanked out the blade. He had a strange sensation at the realization that he actually wanted to see her do it again. He wanted to see the fluid movement best described in poems. Had all the years of violence and pain desensitized him that much?
The night sky was alight as distant
popping sounds filled the quiet night, and birds took flight from the trees.
“It’s started.”
A metal thunk caused the two to swing their heads toward the launcher. It was locked in. The man in the back was leaning down, tapping the surface with his hand.
Sean charged by Lexi, his rifle at the ready this time. Without a word, Lexi turned and followed him into the clearing. His loud footfalls drew the attention of the guard next to the launcher.
The hair of his long blonde mullet hardly moved as he swung around, his rifle still on his shoulder.
“Don’t fucking do it,” Sean said. “This ain’t a stunner.” He shook the rifle in his hand to illustrate his meaning.
The man raised his hands and looked over his shoulder.
“Seriously,” Lexi said. “Don’t even think about it.” She held up the knife. Seeing he was keeping quiet, she walked up to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the machine, and passing him to Sean.
Sean took the man by the arm and motioned for him to sit, which he did. After Sean pulled the rifle off the man’s shoulder, he gently laid it on the ground.
Lexi looked down at the control console. As she tried the different controls, Sean watched from behind, keeping the man covered with his fusion rifle. He took a couple of steps to the right to check the position of any other guards. No one. The guards must have charged forward when the fireworks started.
Lexi turned.
“Hey, asshole. Get over here.”
The man looked up at Sean.
“You heard the lady,” Sean said. He tapped the guy with his boot.
“‘Thought maybe she was talking to you.”
“Funny,” Sean said. “Move it.”
Once he stood at the console, Lexi pointed at the control buttons.
“How do I lower it?”
“You don’t, bitch.”
Sean introduced the butt of his rifle to the mullet man’s shoulder.
“Ogg!”
Lexi and Sean looked around to make sure no stragglers heard the man’s utterance.
“Show some god-damned respect, or I’ll end you right here,” Sean said. His eyes met with Lexi’s. Hers flickered, but she didn’t quite smile.
Lexi slapped the man.
“How do I lower it? Tell me.”
“I ain’t helping’ you. It’s gonna fire in a minute, and there ain’t nothing you can do.”
“Okay,” Lexi said. “Kill him. Do it slow.”
Sean flinched. He looked into her eyes and saw nothing there but emptiness. Hoping she was just trying to scare the badlander, he tapped the guy in the shoulder with the rifle.
“Let’s go,” Sean gestured toward the tree line.
The man hesitated, looking at Sean.
“Aw, Jesus,” Lexi said. She stepped forward, knelt down and lifted the cuff of the man’s pants. She set the curve of her blade against his Achilles and looked up at him. “Last chance, asshole.”
The man didn’t respond.
“Cover his mouth,” she said. The man turned as if he would run, and Sean caught him in the head with the butt of his rifle. The man stumbled and fell.
“Help!” he yelled, grabbing at his head. “Help! God-dammit all!”
“They left you,” Sean said.
Lexi kicked the man on the ground in the shoulder.
“Stop.”
She kicked him again, hard. The man grunted.
“Lexi. Stop.”
Lexi kicked him again, this time while looking at Sean with defiance in her expression. She kicked him again.
“Lexi!” Sean barked. “Does that make us any better than them?”
Lexi stepped forward and looked up into Sean’s eyes.
“If you’ve seen what I’ve seen these people do, you wouldn’t be telling me to stop. You would damn well be kicking him yourself.” She was growling now. “I’ve spent six years helping what little remains of the civilized world connect with the place you just risked your ass to escape. I don’t know what you ran from, and I don’t really give a shit. But this is the world now, babe. This one man, this—” She looked down and kicked the man again, causing Sean to toss his head to the side and roll his eyes. “—piece of shit is about to kill a lot of people, maybe thousands, maybe tens of thousands.”
A rumbling sound rose from behind Lexi, and Sean turned his head. Smoke started to extrude from the rocket’s tail.
“Shit!” Lexi said.
She grabbed the man by the back of his collar and started dragging him toward the rocket. Sean looked at her. Then he looked down at the man.
If he’d seen what she’d seen? She had no idea what he’d seen!
She was dragging the mullet man along, kicking him when he tried to reach for her legs. Sean stepped forward and grabbed the man’s jacket, yanking him forward. They dragged him to the machine and picked him up.
“I’m sorry,” Lexi said to Sean. “This is the world now.” She turned her head. “You lower that god-damned rocket or I swear to your fucking mother that you will suffer slowly at the whims of my corrupted soul and this fucking blade. Lower the god-damned rocket!”
The man didn’t move.
Sean did.
He twisted, grabbed the man’s shoulder, and pulled it into his armpit, wrenching the man’s arm across Sean’s chest, bending it back and away from the man’s body. He screamed, but Sean didn’t relent until he heard a pop.
Sean dropped his arm, which dangled from his separated shoulder.
“Do it,” Lexi said, grabbing the back of his mullet and pulling his face toward hers. “Then we’ll put your shoulder back.”
The man lowered himself over the console, steam billowing next to them as he keyed in commands with the pain to help focus him. The missile began to lower, but the steam didn’t stop.
Then Sean watched as Lexi’s expression changed; she looked to the sky and then back down again.
“Don’t stop the launch.”
“What?” Sean asked.
“Make up your mind, lady,” the man with the mullet said.
“Keep lowering it,” Lexi said.
The missile continued to steam and bellow as the missile lowered its trajectory.
“Stop there.”
“What are you doing, Miranda?”
She winked at him.
The missile stopped. She raised her knife.
“Lexi.”
She stopped and glared at him, holding the knife to the man’s throat. Their eyes locked, and they stood still for a moment.
“That thing’s going to launch in twenty seconds,” the man interrupted. “You don’t want to be standing here when it does.”
Lexi finally gave up the staring contest and turned her eyes on the man. She wrapped around him and grabbed his shoulder. The man screamed, Sean stepped forward and reached out, but before he could grab her, the shoulder popped back into place.
“You happy now?” She turned to the man. “Start running.” She pointed west. “That way.”
The man didn’t have to be told twice. He sped off, nursing his left shoulder with his right hand as he staggered along.
Then Lexi walked past Sean, giving him a firm slap on the ass.
“Run,” she said.
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Light 'Em Up
Reagan pushed the button as Kade dove back into the chain link cage. Outside the gate, an explosion filled the air, and a ball of fire shot upward toward the night sky, a round mass flying in a straight line with smoke streaming behind it.
A head, Reagan thought.
Another explosion to the south. More biological debris shot out in all directions, the small shockwave sending the debris into the bodies of the men surrounding the detonation. Another explosion, then another, and suddenly they were popping off everywhere, like a field of fiery geysers, thinning the herd. The badlanders in the front ranks who were fortunate enough not to be carrying JenCorp weapons with self-destruct safety mechanisms charged to
ward the wall in a furious rush.
“Charge you son-a-bitches!” Horace’s voice screamed from the riot box. “Charge those bastards! Tanks! Fire! Fire!”
Reagan pushed another button and the remaining weapons strewn about the ground outside the wall became a mine field around the chargers. They stopped, and their heads jerked around as explosions all around them painted their faces in fiery orange glows.
The citizens started shuffling back up the stairs, and the Expeditionary Forces filled the gates.
“Go! Go! Go!” Commander Davies yelled. “Unit One! Time to light ‘em up!”
Reagan cringed and covered her ears as the tanks unloaded their ordinance. Though the shells hadn’t penetrated the wall, she heard their impact with the wall and saw white clouds of concrete wafting upward to meet with the thick, wet snow.
The citizens lining the top of the wall opened fire on the marauder masses below. A group of badlanders reached the chain link cage and began firing wildly as they walked into the bottleneck. Citizens on either side fired into the cage. One badlander’s arm turned into a wet green dust as it evaporated and the fusion plasma ate its way through his body. A citizen’s head jerked sideways, an explosion of blood exiting from it. Screams filled the air from the cage below, the wall to her right, and the field beyond. Tracers of light whipped through the air against the dark night and white snow.
One of the tanks fired again, and Reagan turned her eyes on the wall. Still no penetration. The other fired, but this time the turret exploded before shell exited, and the force through the narrow passage pushed the pressure back inside the tank, causing the lid to vibrate and smoke to rise from within. A single badlander ran away from the combat in the distance, from the area where Horace had been standing, and Reagan zoomed in.
It was, indeed, Horace, running from the action toward the northwest. He disappeared into the woods.