The Harmony Paradox

by Matthew S. Cox

  Luna screamed. An arrow struck the leftmost dog in the top of the head, and it fell over sideways.

  Cielo, wailing, came sprinting around the corner into the front area, heedless of bullets whizzing overhead. Two of the five remaining dogs went for him; three sprinted out of sight toward Luna.

  Kathy fired at the dogs chasing Cielo, but missed. The boy bee-lined straight to her, screaming, “Mama!” She rushed forward, pulled him past her, and raised her rifle to shield herself from the attacking mongrels. One got its teeth around her weapon; the other got her in the arm.

  Luna screamed.

  Kenny shoved himself up and fired a burst into the dog on Kathy’s left arm. She yelled in rage, twisting her rifle to throw the other animal off. Before it could recover its balance, she clobbered it in the head. Trusting her, Kenny sprinted after Luna.

  Alyssa’s pistol went off twice behind him.

  Less than a second after he ran into the dining room, Luna’s foot punctured the floor as she ran from the dogs. She shrieked and threw her bow to the side while flailing to grab on to anything. The girl landed on her butt, caving in the floor around her. She rolled over onto her stomach, scrambling to grab at tiles, but slid out of sight; a good fifteen-foot wide patch of floor collapsed near the farthest end of the room.

  The three dogs chasing her tried to stop, but their claws found no purchase on smooth tile, and they tumbled into the hole.

  Whump.

  After a brief canine whimper of pain, the growling resumed. Pieces of wood and tile clattered on the floor of an unseen basement.

  Kenny fast-walked up to the edge. Luna dangled from a metal electrical outlet box, swaying on the end of a bit of flexible steel piping. The dogs gathered on the floor below her, leaping up and snapping their jaws closed inches from her toes.

  Luna screamed, “Help! Don’t let me fall!”

  Kenny tossed his rifle to the side and dove forward, landing flat on his chest with his arm in the hole. The tips of his fingers missed her hand by less than an inch. She stared into his eyes for a fraction of a second that consumed an eternity. Pleading shifted to terror; she knew her life would end in seconds.

  “Luna!” Kenny struggled to reach just a little farther.

  The shift in his weight caused something to break with a wooden crack under him. Luna fell another few inches, but the whip-back of the electrical box under her weight broke the cable. She screamed and flailed as she fell into the dog’s jaws.

  Fuck it.

  Kenny shoved himself up and jumped, whipping his pistol off his belt in a cowboy quick draw. He moved on instinct, not thinking, not planning―reacting. His first shot hit the head of the dog biting for her neck. The second bullet struck the chest of the dog with its teeth around her left arm. Kenny’s boots hit the basement floor and he collapsed into a roll. After tumbling once, he sprang up into a slide and took a second to aim at the head of the dog dragging her deeper into the basement by her right leg.

  His finger tightened; the electric trigger shifted one millimeter.

  Bang.

  The bullet went in one ear and out the other, passing within an inch of her shin.

  Two of the dogs lay dead; the one he hit in the chest swayed on its feet, huffed once, and fell over.

  “Luna!” yelled Kenny. He ignored the dull ache in his left foot and scrambled over to her.

  She held her bitten arm tight to her chest, sobbing. Kenny skidded to a halt on his knees beside her, and eased his arm around her back. The girl bled from the arm and leg; he’d managed to kill the first dog before it did anything worse to her neck than drool on it. Luna quieted for a moment, giving him a heart-rending look of adoration, but resumed sobbing in pain.

  He cradled her and stood. “It’s okay. I got you.”

  Above, the sounds of gunfire petered out, leaving only the steady boom-boom-boom of the sentry gun.

  “Ken!” shouted Kathy. “Where are you?”

  “Down here,” he yelled. “Be careful, the whole floor is giving out.”

  He turned in a slow circle, surveying shelves of moldy supplies, stacks of chairs and tables, and piles of cardboard boxes decayed into a mass of who-knows what. The vast basement had to equal the footprint of the restaurant above it, but from where he stood, he couldn’t find any trace of a stairway.

  “Lookin’ for stairs,” he yelled.

  “I think we got ’em all.” Eldon exhaled hard. “Fuckin’ a, what a way to wake up.”

  Kenny carried Luna a few steps to his left and peered between a pair of shelves laden with dusty dinnerware. “Kath, how’s Liss?”

  “She’s fine.”

  Gato and Halcón appeared at the top of the hole. They looked pale as ghosts until they stared at Luna for a second or two, and seemed relieved.

  Something groaned in the dark. Kenny whirled to the right, facing an area that would probably be under the kitchen. Luna bit off a scream at the sudden motion. A collapsed shelf shifted. A dry, leathery hand, as green as loam reached out. Seconds later, two withered male figures crawled out from the junk pile, snarling and groaning, their eyes solid orbs of luminous yellow.

  “Rad ghouls…” He stared up at the hole. Really, Old Man? Damn you.

  Luna stopped sobbing, and stared at them. “The dead ones. Bad.”

  “They’re not dead, sweetie,” whispered Kenny. “They just look like it.”

  Blood trickled down her leg and ran in a stream off her big toe fast enough to worry him. I gotta get a stimpak in this kid yesterday. He shifted her weight onto his left arm and pulled his pistol from its holster.

  One of the ghouls sprang into a charge. Kenny’s rushed shot went high, and the creature tackled him flat. Alligator-rough skin over its chest scratched at his face as it drilled him into the floor. Luna bounced away, shrieking in pain. Gasping, she tried to drag herself away with one arm and one leg. The second ghoul blurred into a streak of dark loam green, and seized her.

  Kenny bashed the ghoul on top of him in the side of the head, knocking it away enough to put two shots into the head of the one grabbing Luna. The rad ghoul grabbing at him swung its arm around in a wild haymaker. Pain exploded in the side of his skull, and the world got blurry.

  Thok. Thok.

  He shook off dizziness to find a dead ghoul on top of him with two arrows sticking out of its lower back, the boys had aimed for its kidneys. Rad ghouls had two hearts, located where a human’s kidneys would be. Luna crawled toward him, whining, struggling to get her uninjured left foot out of the dead grip of the ghoul he’d shot. More groaning emanated from the dark. Junk rattled and shifted; something plastic fell to the concrete floor in the distance with a hollow rattle.

  “Shit.” Kenny threw the ghoul off, stood, and recovered his hat. The basement spun and blurred around him, though he swallowed the nauseous wooziness threatening to bring up his dinner. Blood trickled down the side of his head in front of his throbbing ear. He pulled a knife from his belt sheath and took a knee by Luna. “I got you, sweetie.”

  She scooted closer and grabbed onto him as he cut the ghoul’s thumb off, freeing her leg.

  “You got company,” said Eldon from above.

  Kenny stowed his knife and gathered Luna in his arms. “Yeah I hear them.”

  Halcón shot an arrow into the dark, earning a fleshy squish and the crash of a body falling into metal shelving.

  Kenny stood. “She’s bleeding bad. Gotta stim her fast.”

  Four pairs of huge yellow eyes glowed in the shadows, ambling closer. Kenny held the girl with one arm and fired one shot at each set while backing toward the hole. The ghouls crumpled in place, but moaning and rustling continued.

  “Oh come on, you old fuck.” Kenny scowled.

  “Here,” yelled Halcón.

  The fifteen-year-old flung himself to the floor and reached down into the hole.

  Kenny nodded, and tried to peel Luna away so he could hand her up. She shrieked and wailed, digging her fingers in tighter. He worried
he’d hurt her if he pushed hard enough to break her grip. Fuck it.

  Eldon crouched and grabbed Halcón by the legs, extending him deeper into the basement. The boy nodded at Kenny and reached for him with both hands.

  “Get on my back,” said Kenny.

  Luna scooted around and hung off him like a living cape.

  He jumped up and grabbed Halcón’s forearms. The boy clamped his fingers into Kenny’s wrists with surprising strength. Eldon leaned back and pulled them up and out of the hole. Kathy grabbed on once she could reach, and helped drag them to solid ground. The windows along the side of the dining room revealed a trace of blue on the horizon, minutes away from sunrise.

  Eldon lugged Halcón to the side onto a safe patch of floor like an old carpet roll, swung his rifle up from its strap, and fired into the basement.

  Splats of bullet strikes mixed with the death wails of rad ghouls below.

  Kenny gulped air for two breaths, glancing up when Alyssa appeared in the archway between the dining room and the front foyer. She looked weary, but didn’t have any visible wounds. At the sight of Kenny in one piece, she hurried over with noticeable effort in her stride and a hint of a grimace. A dot of copper stuck to her armored vest over her breast; the sight of it made him light headed.

  Oh… no. He threw his right arm around her and pulled her close, sniffling into her hair. “Liss… I’m sorry.”

  She grunted, but hugged him back. “I’m just sore. Holy shit! She’s bleeding so much…”

  Kenny relaxed his grip on Alyssa and eased Luna off his back to cradle her in both arms.

  “Uhh,” yelled Hayley. “We got incoming. Raiders.”

  “Raiders?” Alyssa spun around. “How do you know they’re raiders?”

  “Half naked men hanging off the sides of cars, waving swords and shit,” said Hayley. “Ugh. One of them doesn’t have any pants on. And, oh… ouch. Another guy’s got wrenches hanging off his nipples.”

  “I think you should shoot them,” said Nasir, strain clear in his voice.

  “Dad?” yelled Hayley.

  Damn that old man. “If they look hostile, let ’em have it.” Kenny set Luna down to sit on the floor, keeping his left arm around her back. Blood pooled out from under her calf. Her head lolled to one side, eyes half closed. He grabbed for the stimpak case on Eldon’s belt, pulled out two, and ripped the safety caps off both at once. After pulling her t-shirt up a little, he jabbed both autoinjectors into her left thigh.

  The sentry gun roared to life outside.

  Halcón gave him a challenging glare. “What are you doing?”

  “Medicine. She’s losing blood too fast.” Kenny brushed hair off the child’s face, alarmed by her lack of focus. Her eyes didn’t react to his waving hand. No… come on, don’t die. You can’t have her you old fuck. “Stay with me, Luna.” He gave her a light shake. “Keep your eyes open. You’re gonna be okay.”

  Her left calf swarmed with pink foam. Rips in exposed muscle shrank as the tissue filled in anew. Red flesh turned milky from millions of nanobots reconstructing her skin layer by layer. Not quite a minute later, a mottle of paler brown spots marked her skin where the dog’s teeth had mauled. Aside from a shift in pigment and a coating of dried blood, her leg looked pristine.

  “You are a prophet too?” asked Gato.

  “No. It’s medicine. I’ll explain later.” He jostled Luna. “Hey, kiddo. You with me?”

  Luna moaned, but managed a weak smile.

  “Truck!” yelled Kenny. “Everyone to the truck now!”

  Gato and Cielo scrambled to collect sleeping bags, ignoring Kenny shouting to leave them behind. He carried Luna out with Kathy at his heels. Alyssa stopped in the middle of the foyer, staring at Hayley who continued to sit with the bot console in her lap. Her face shimmered green as she tapped and poked at an eight-inch physical display panel. Nasir lay behind her, bloody hand clutching his left side.

  “Aww shit.” Kenny grumbled. “Nas? How bad?”

  “Oh, hurts a shitpile, but I don’t think I’m gonna die… could use a stimpak though.” He flashed a cheesy grin. “Standing and moving aren’t on my to-do list right now.”

  The sentry gun fired again, letting off three and five round short-bursts. The Scrag boys all shouted in surprise. Cielo clamped his hands over his ears and burst into tears. Seconds later, he realized what the noise was, and went from terrified to cheering.

  “Hale, truck, now!” yelled Kenny, as he set Luna in on the back seat.

  “I can’t run and shoot at the same time,” shouted Hayley. “There’s a buttload of them.”

  “I got her,” yelled Eldon.

  Kathy started for Nasir, but Kenny grabbed her shoulder. “Your arm looks bad… get a stim on that. I’ll get Nas.”

  She patted his shoulder, nodded, and climbed into the truck.

  Eldon picked Hayley up by a hand under each armpit, carrying her while she continued operating the sentry turret. Kenny hauled Nasir to his feet, supporting him by holding his arm over his shoulders. The skinny man growled past gritted teeth, but nodded at him to keep going.

  “The orbs,” said Nasir between grunts. “Don’t leave them behind. We might need them.”

  Gato and Cielo tossed the wad of sleeping bags in the truck bed and slithered into the cab via the sliding rear window.

  “I got ’em already,” said Hayley. “They’re in their crate.”

  The sentry gun fired again; this close to the truck, the massive rapport made Kenny’s brain wobble in his skull.

  A fireball bloomed in the distance, stark orange against the indigo sky. Seconds later, the boom of an explosion and clamor of metal bits striking the ground followed. The sentry gun fired another burst, and a loud wham of two vehicles colliding came after.

  “They’re not getting the message,” said Hayley, sounding calm and as annoyed as if she merely played a video game.

  Kenny cringed watching her. Guess them being so far away makes it less real… not killing actual people.

  “You know, she’s pretty good at that,” said Nasir, before wincing. “Ooh, shit. I think I lost a rib.”

  Eldon set her inside the truck and sprinted around to the passenger seat. Kenny half-threw Nasir into Kathy’s grip and dragged himself in behind the wheel. He expected nothing to happen, so when the truck’s biodiesel engine started on the first button push, he let out a whoop of elation.

  “Liss, grab the first aid kit.” Kenny pointed to the white box on the rear window next to the gun rack, up against the passenger-side wall. He cranked the wheel and stomped on the gas.

  The truck lurched forward, dirt spitting from all four tires. Off to the right, the dust trails of four or five raider cars and two buggies closed in on their position. Beyond them, flaming wreckage littered the ground, probably more vehicles than remained moving.

  Alyssa took the medical box down and opened it, exposing forty stimpaks and an assortment of other minor first aid supplies. She gave Kathy an injection in her bitten arm, hit Luna with another on her arm, and gave Nasir two before sticking herself with one in the stomach under the edge of her armored vest.

  Kathy gritted her teeth and stifled a groan of pain as foamed welled up from her injury.

  “Oh that feels so weird.” Alyssa cringed.

  Eldon took a stimpak from a belt case and attached it to a port on his armor over the chest.

  “You hit?” asked Kenny.

  “Six times.” Eldon chuckled as he pushed it down to trigger the injector. “Damn good thing those bots were using old tech. Nothin’ pierced, but I feel like I challenged a forklift to a boxing match.”

  Alyssa leaned into the front seat. She pulled Kenny’s armored coat down enough to stab him in the shoulder with a stimpak. “Your left ear’s bleeding like hell.”

  “I think that ghoul whomped me, but I don’t really remember it.”

  Gato waved at Alyssa. “Can I have a medicine too?” He pointed at a few bleeding cuts, likely near misses from b
ullets or shrapnel.

  The sentry gun continued firing to the rear, earning another distant explosion.

  “Almost out of bullets,” said Hayley.

  “You went through all six hundred rounds?” Nasir blinked.

  Hayley glared at him. “You didn’t see how much shit was out there. Damned robot army.”

  “If anyone ever says video games are a waste of time, I’m gonna laugh at them.” Eldon grinned. “Damn fine work, kid.”

  Luna crawled between the front seats. She wrapped her arms around Kenny and rested her head against his stomach. He swallowed hard as emotion left a giant knot in his throat. Without thinking, he stroked her hair and she cuddled tighter. He couldn’t get that look she’d given him right before she fell out of his mind. Alyssa reached around the left side of his seat and put her arm on his chest. Since ahead lay flat open nothingness, he let go of the wheel to clasp her hand.

  “Well… I’m awake,” said Eldon.

  Gato slid the rear window open. “37 Alguien quiere comida?”

  When no one said a word, he shrugged, and crawled out to the ration box.

  Kenny stared into the dark western horizon, shying away from the painful orange glow in the rearview mirror. Gato returned with his breakfast and sat on the floor to feast. Kathy rubbed her restored arm, marveling at how it had been a mangled mess only minutes before. Alyssa remained attached to Kenny’s seat, the faint sound of sniffling nipped at his left ear.

  He twisted his head to make eye contact. “Hey…”

  “Hey.” Alyssa sniffled. “When you went through the floor, I thought you were gonna die.”

  “You got shot. It’s my―”

  “No, it’s Hayley’s fault.” Alyssa sniffled and giggled at the same time.

  “How is it my fault you can’t duck?” asked Hayley in a humorous tone.

  Alyssa leaned back to give her a playful ‘angry’ look. “If you were watching and not playing video games, you could’a shot the one that was aimin’ for you before I had to do it and get tagged for it.”

  The sentry gun fired twice more. Hayley stared at the bot control panel with the focus of a competition level gamer in the last round for ten million credits of real money. “Hang on. The level’s not over yet.”