Dues of Mortality

by Jason Austin

  Miles Gabriel rounded the corner, looking like a human marshmallow. The entire floor was deluged in lumpy white billows. It was like swimming through a pool-sized, carelessly drawn mug of beer. The shit was everywhere, in his eyes, in his mouth; he was blinking and spitting with every step. He had to get it out of his face before...Wham! Gabriel suddenly fell backward, solidly floored by a jarring right cross. Xavier had clocked him hard, articulating a measure of revenge for that cheap shot back in the warehouse. Unfortunately, the true object of Xavier's attention had now skidded off into the layers of foam coating the floor. He began a frantic search. If he could get Gabriel's gun, then Xavier and Glenda could blast their way out.

  ****

  The guard peered into the hallway, paying absolutely no attention to Richard Kelmer. “DECONTAMINATION ON SUBLEVEL THREE. LOCKDOWN ENGAGED,” he heard again. He'd heard that same warning voice before during evac drills, but this was the first time it had ever singled-out a specific floor. He glanced between Kelmer and the handfuls of scurrying workers charging for the exits.

  Oh, shit, he thought.

  Something had escaped—a bacteria, a virus, or both. Wallace could think all he wanted, that guys like him were just a bunch of brainless ex-jocks who'd suffered one too many concussions in high-school football, but the guard knew exactly what these eggheads were working with in this place. And he knew since, officially, the facility didn't even exist, that going down with the ship was all that was left to anyone on sublevel three. Best to be up and out before someone decided the whole building was ground zero.

  “Fuck this,” the guard finally said under his breath and took off.

  Richard Kelmer was left glancing around the office. Was this some sort of test or a trap or something? Did the guard really just leave? He got up, went to the door and peeked out. He witnessed a mass exodus of people, most of whom were in full-out sprints. His venturesome former guard was elbowing his way to the front of the pack. Perhaps Kelmer's plan was working out better than he had thought. Had his “secret weapon” been that efficient? Kelmer hadn’t figured on actually leaving alive, but now...If he could only find Glenda and her friend. Assuming Wallace hadn’t already tortured them to death, could he take advantage of the commotion and find them before Wallace returned? Maybe he could even verify that the second half of his plan had been successful. He knew where to go, and he was confident the system would be hacked if he got everything right.

  Yes, Kelmer thought. It was now or never.

  Chapter 57

  Found it, Xavier thought. The second his hands hit metal, he grabbed up the gun and made his intention for the stairwell door. Unfortunately, it was as far as he got. Bursting from the thicket, Miles Gabriel rammed him against the wall with a shoulder to the gut. Gabriel grabbed at the MAG with one hand and plunged a fist into Xavier’s stomach with the other. Xavier countered quickly with a jolting knee to Gabriel’s midsection. Their respective grips on the gun miraculously remained tight.

  Oh, no, Glenda thought. She could just make out Xavier and Gabriel locked in combat from the other end of the corridor. They turned and swung at each other in the fizzling foam with their limbs going in and out of view. It seemed like an oil painting of two Greek gods engaged in a divine battle among the clouds. She wanted badly to rush in, but feared she would somehow cost Xavier the fight. On the other hand, to just stand there and do nothing when she could make it two against one was also unacceptable. She took a few steps forward, thinking to use the mounds of foam as cover.

  Gabriel and Xavier were all-out wrestling for control of the MAG, all four hands vying for its dominance. Like his opponent, Gabriel was pulling hard, but not really toward his own body. When Xavier saw Glenda trying to move in on them, he knew why.

  “No,” Xavier shouted. Gabriel had spotted Glenda first and was trying to get a bead on her. As soon as Xavier noticed her is when a shot sparked forward and Glenda disappeared into the foam.

  Xavier's insides surged with a white hot pain. He knew instantly to use it as a catalyst to hold on to the gun. “No! Mutha’fucka’! I’m gonna kill you!” Xavier threw a head-butt into Gabriel, opening a nasty gash above Gabriel's right eye. He tried a few more times with the knee, but Gabriel was more durable than he looked. Glenda, please get up, Xavier prayed. Please be all right! Please!

  Glenda didn't know how bad she'd been hit until she saw the blood on her hip. The shot had only grazed her and the resulting reflex caused her to lose her balance. She pressed her hand to the wound and stood up, facing the stairwell door.

  It’s open, she thought. I think! It was hard to see the entire door through the patches of foam.

  She ran to it, her hip feeling like it was on fire. She saw that the skimming shot had hit the door square at the lock, or just close enough. Either way, the metal around the lock looked bent and or broken and there was now a visible amount of space between the door and its jamb. She ignored the pain in her hip and gave the door a solid kick right at the sight of impact. It fell open, spilling foam into the stairwell.

  Xavier saw Glenda kick open the door and rejoiced. His first thought was to not give her opportunity to repeat the mistake she'd made in Seattle.

  “Glenda, go,” he ordered. “Get out of here!”

  “I’m not leaving you,” she shouted back.

  Stubborn broad! Xavier thought. It wasn’t as if there was time to argue. He could feel Gabriel trying for another shot. “God damn it, I said go! Now!”

  Glenda continued to ignore him.

  “Get out!” he commanded and nearly added a “you dumb bitch” for a little extra incentive. Glenda absolutely had to leave.

  She had to live.

  She had to get married and have children. She had to love and be loved by someone who wouldn't let her down. Xavier didn’t care with whom, he just knew the world would stop spinning if she died. The sun would not rise, black would become white, and nothing, nothing, nothing would ever matter for him again. His life would be forfeit and the bomb that lay ticking beneath all their feet would surely accept him as a willing sacrifice.

  Miles Gabriel pushed outward to get some distance between himself and Xavier. With just enough space, he kicked out and caught Xavier just under his left kneecap. Xavier's shin bent inward and he yelped in pain. His grip on the gun then loosened enough for Gabriel to tear it away completely. Xavier tumbled backward into a particularly high drift of foam and, for all intents and purposes, disappeared. Gabriel aimed downward, waiting to see something of his opponent, tracking the spot where he'd vanished. When he finally spied the dark colors of Xavier's clothing contrasting with the foam, Gabriel fired on top of it. He quickly heard the slap of fresh meat hitting the floor.

  “Xavier!” Glenda screamed.

  Gabriel smoothly swung the gun in her direction and fired again.

  Even if the foam wasn't obscuring Gabriel's vision, Glenda had already set about dodging to the right before she'd finished yelling Xavier's name. Finally, she darted through the doorway and sprinted up the stairs. Tears were already beginning as she sealed the man named Xavier Hawkins away in her heart forever.

  It wasn't until Glenda reached the floor above that it occurred to her its door, as well, might be sealed off. When it opened easily, she was a hundred shades of relieved. Apparently, the emergency protocols pertained only to the floor in which the alarm had been thrown, allowing for the rest of the building to be evacuated.

  The slick slate hallways before her, were entirely devoid of life. Also, not a drop of the anti-microbial agent, that she could still taste in her mouth, was to be seen. Leave it to a scum like Wallace to cut corners on safety, she figured. She tore down the hallway until a MAG shot whizzed past her ear and hit a metal equipment cart right in front of her. It glided backward on its wheels and slammed into the wall. Glenda glanced behind her and saw Miles Gabriel inside the stairwell door with a hand to his ribcage. Despite his having come out on top, Xavier had put a real hurting on him and it was affecting hi
s aim.

  Glenda didn't need a second shot buzzing her ear to tell her she needed immediate cover. The hallway was long and her hip burned. Even in a zigzag pattern, Gabriel would have plenty of time to score a hit. The equipment cart was to her left at eleven o'clock. She ran behind it. It was as tall as she was. She could use it as cover to traverse some of the hallway. Problem was, it had gaps, big ones. Items still lay on its shelves, but nothing that would stop a bullet. She would have to be the world's most annoying moving target. There was simply no other choice.

  She grabbed the cart and pulled it along in front of her, moving as fast as she could. She passed in front of a lab entrance and a MAG shot toppled both her and the cart. The top third of Glenda's body listed inside the lab. Gabriel fired two more times. The stainless steel shelves, now on their sides, barely shielded Glenda from the shots. She rolled the rest of herself inside the lab and scrambled to her feet.

  She quickly took inventory of the room. A weapon, a window, anything she could use to escape or fight back was foremost on her mind. Occupying a sizable portion of the area was an enclosed transparent chamber with a single entrance. It was both hermetically and magnetically sealed from ceiling to floor. However, its single door, operated by a free standing control panel on the outside, was left open. An emergency exit was nowhere to be seen. Chairs were left scattered about, but unless she had the strength to heft one, there was nothing to use as a weapon. She eyed the mysterious chamber. In the middle of the chamber, a tiny gray and white speckled rabbit sat squat in a gilded cage doing that little nose-twitching-nibbly thing rabbits were famous for. Apparently when the alarm sounded, everyone beat it, leaving whatever experiment they were working on unattended.

  Miles Gabriel slithered into the room, teasingly tapping his hip with the gun. The raw heat of hatred from his eyes was so tangible he could have fried an egg just by looking at it. Sweat glistened on his vein engorged forehead and a single eyelid spasmed at a mile a minute. “I wish I had time to make you suffer,” he said chillingly.

  Glenda didn't say a word. She just stared back in defiance. If she was going to die, it wouldn't be while begging at this prick's feet. Of that she was certain.

  Gabriel leveled the gun at her and let the green dot dance on her brow until he was satisfied. He then squeezed the trigger with a well-deserved smile.

  The empty gun barely whistled.

  Gabriel's primordial howl started out low and bled into a cacophony of profanities that would have made the devil himself blush. On the last syllable, he threw the gun at Glenda’s head, missing her by inches. His chest heaved and his eyes then drew their own crosshairs on her. He charged forward at full steam.

  Glenda angled to her right, counting Gabriel's steps. Once close enough, she threw out her left leg and caught Gabriel in the stomach. He let out an “umpf”, doubling over and holding his gut. She continued her sidestep, stitching the motions together as best she could. Take the fight to him, she thought. She then grabbed one of the chairs and raised it to waist height. It was heavier than it looked. Gabriel intercepted the half-assed swing and landed a straight punch to Glenda's face, knocking her down. Before she even knew what was happening, her eyes were already swelling and she could feel the blood pooling in her skull. Gabriel was strangling the life out of her. Something that should've been done days ago. Something that would have saved everything! And now there was nothing! Fuck the bomb; that was too good for her. If Gabriel couldn't have Millenitech, he would, at least, have the satisfaction of killing this bitch.

  “What do you see?” Xavier said. As her vision floundered, Glenda flashed back to the motel. Xavier's rich brown eyes were, once again, in sync with hers as he held her against the wall.

  Glenda's legs were useless; Gabriel was far too heavy. But her arms were unencumbered. In fact, her hands had instinctively gripped Gabriel's the moment she felt the pressure on her throat. She mentally mapped out each target in sequence. Ears. The heels of Glenda's hands slammed hard into Gabriel’s ears. His strangling grip loosened considerably, but didn’t fall away. Eyes. Glenda curled her thumbs into daggers and stabbed, pressing them into Gabriel's eyes.

  Gabriel screamed. He tried not to let go, but decided quickly going blind was unacceptable. He reared back, throwing his hands over his eyes.

  Throat. Glenda zeroed in on Gabriel's protuberant Adam’s apple. Typical male feature. It might as well have had a bullseye painted on it. Let’s see how you like it! She made a fist and straightened her arm into the bulge.

  Gabriel reached for his throat, partially raising off of his victim. In less than thirty seconds he went from being all-powerful to half-blind and retching like a cat coughing up a hairball.

  As soon as Glenda felt the release of pressure against her legs, she pulled out as much as she could and threw her knee into the apex of Gabriel's crotch. Balls.

  Gabriel crimped to the side, one hand on his throat and the other cupping his testicles. Glenda finally rolled out from under him, dizzy as all hell and holding her own throat. She segued quickly to her feet.

  Refusing to be outdone, Gabriel, got up and flew at Glenda in a literal blind rage. The shot in the balls seemed to had been tempered by Glenda’s limited range of movement. Though, even if it hadn't, Gabriel was riding on a white wave of fury and adrenaline. He looked like he was going to make a grabbing motion, but instead he clothes-lined Glenda, knocking her backward against the chamber control panel. The panel made a soft beeping noise and from the center of the isolation chamber, a foot-long black cylinder sprouted from a cube next to the rabbit cage. The action of the chamber went completely ignored by the room's occupants, the nose twitching hare included.

  Gabriel kept up his advance, but his impaired vision now factored heavily in his attempts at murder. Glenda kicked straight out, dealing a scrumptious blow to his abdomen. She was pretty sure she heard a rib crack and there were no words to describe her satisfaction. Gabriel then fell forward against the hermetic chamber, teetering on his feet. When Glenda saw how close he was to the chamber door she stepped around Gabriel and laid into his side with her right shoulder. Gabriel tumbled forth, almost into the center of the chamber, and fell flat on his face. As he tried to blink the blood out of his eyes, he could swear he was looking at a rabbit.

  Not wasting a second, Glenda switched to the chamber's control panel and pressed the icon resembling a closing door. The chamber door eased shut, locking Gabriel inside. She even pushed against the door itself to make certain he was truly imprisoned. When she was certain the door was sealed, she leaned her back against it and sucked in an invigorating dose of air.

  Seconds into her reprieve, a ringing thud from the chamber put Glenda back on her heels. Gabriel had kicked hard its transparent wall. There was an override panel inside, but it had been secured for safety purposes and he had no inkling as to its code. In all the hours spent in this fucking death factory, it had never occurred to him that he'd need the override codes for...What was this thing used for again? At that moment, the black cylinder in the center of the chamber parted in two and birthed an amber-filled sphere from its top. The sphere then fell to the floor and shattered on impact, inches from the rabbit’s cage.

  Abject panic radiated through Gabriel's body like a million volts of raw electricity. The Saffron toxin! Damn it, he hadn’t even noticed where the bitch had led him. Why did all these goddamn labs have to look the same? Gabriel beat his fists against the ballistic-grade glass. “Let me out!” he shouted.

  Glenda's only response was a look of “are you kidding?”

  Gabriel looked back at her as if trying to decide whether or not to play to her sympathies. He then heard a frail clink from inside the chamber.

  The poor unwitting rabbit was slamming itself against the sides of its cage. Its nervous system was in full scale meltdown. The rabbit's frail little bones were breaking beneath the pull of its own muscles. Blood soaked its fur as its skin began to rupture. It violently released both bowels and bladder in ac
ute streams across the floor of the cage. The little innocent was dying a horrible death. If she had had the strength, Glenda would have wept openly for the animal.

  When she looked back at Gabriel, though, Glenda had no such sentiment. The purity of horror in the man's eyes had to be from seeing the gates of hell opening beneath him. When Gabriel hit the floor, foaming at the mouth and contorting his body into shapes that no human form was ever meant to make, You killed Xavier, you bastard, was all Glenda could think. When so many of his vertebrae herniated from the convulsions and his skin erupted with bloody fissures, You killed Xavier, you bastard, was all she could think. When the respiratory paralysis finally silenced Gabriel for good, You killed Xavier, you bastard, was all she could think. You...killed...Xavier.

  ****

  Whatever disaster was unfolding around him, Richard was able to block out. He continued his work entirely uninhibited. He was right about Wallace not having time to overhaul the entire system. The UFO's redundant data-core was identical to the one at Millenitech HQ. The code had been recently changed, but Richard had still broken it in record time. As he finished downloading the data, the door to the secured room slid open.

  Kelmer ran to his partner. “D...did you get it?” he asked.

  “Yes, I got it all,” Richard answered.

  Kelmer felt that funny sense of incredulity again. He realized he was a little jealous. He actually had a regal sounding voice without the stutter. “Do I...I really sound that way?”

  “What way?”

  “N...never mind. Let’s go.”

  The two men raced for the doorway.

  “W...we have to find the others.” Kelmer said.

  “What about the contamination? We don’t know what’s been let loose out there.”

  “We’ll have t...to take that risk! I...I’m not leaving without them.” The alarm had been thrown on sublevel three, the lowest level. Undoubtedly, it would be sealed off. Kelmer and Richard would have to go to sublevel two and try to gain access from there. They jumped into the four-seated transport Kelmer had acquired on the way and sped off down the corridor. In no time they were on the floor of sublevel two and had routed a corner where traces of white foam streaked over the floor in a broken line.