Thy Kingdom Come (Navitas Post-Apocalyptic Series)

by Daniel Adorno

  “I don’t know, but they’re all going to be on board soon.”

  Bill swears. “Let’s not panic. I expected this.”

  “Did you?” Lela cuts in. Her eyes look vicious, but it doesn’t phase Bill.

  “Yes, I did,” he says unflinching. “They’re boarding to feed on all the electronics I planted in the last car. But once they consume all of those—”

  “They’ll come for us,” I say.

  “Right.” Bill turns around and reaches beneath a console. He pulls out a leather satchel I hadn’t noticed before and tosses it to Lela. She opens the flap to reveal a handful of grenades and small gray cubes. Lela grabs a cube, examining it with a frown. “Plastic explosives,” Bill says, grabbing the cube from her hand. “Here’s what we need to do.”

  Bill’s plan is simple, but as usual, dangerous and risky. While the Mindless are distracted by their electronic buffet, Lela will place the explosives at the entry points of four out of the eight passenger cars. Bill and I will provide cover for her until we reach the sixth car—the one closest to the two rear cars the Mindless have infiltrated. The goal is to set the charges and run back to the driver car to detonate the explosives on the furthest car. If the Mindless infiltrate the forward cars, then it gets trickier. “We’ll have to run fast and lock down whichever car they’re on. Once we get a good distance from them, we blow the cars to kingdom come,” Bill explains.

  “How do you know this won’t derail the tram completely?” Lela asks.

  Bill shakes his head. “These are small charges. If we place them at the spots I showed you, it’ll only destroy the linkage connecting the cars. As long as the driver car is one car away from the explosion, we’ll be safe.”

  Lela juts her chin, unconvinced.

  After Bill goes over the details one more time, we arm ourselves and exit the doors into the first car. I follow Bill to the end of the car where we prop open the door to the second car. Lela runs up and places the explosives on the steel linkage joints between the cars. Two explosives on the bottom and two more on top. She works fast while I advance into the second car. Another crash shakes the tram—those electronics won’t last long.

  “Okay, charges set!” Lela says.

  We move to the next door, prop it open, and Lela starts the process again. Every car we advance through is identical to the last one—ten rows of empty seats on each side with metal poles spaced evenly along the middle aisle. Holo screens along the ceiling display talking heads who advertise products that are no longer sold to customers. Once we reach the sixth car, the British woman trying to persuade me to buy herbal supplements has gotten tiresome. Inside the sixth car, I can see the doorway at the end of the aisle is ajar. Beyond it, in the seventh car, the Mindless are congregated around a pile of electronics—sucking the power through their fingertips. I freeze up for a moment, my chest aching from the hard thumps of my heartbeat. Bill pushes alongside me and whispers, “keep low and be quiet.” I crouch down and follow him to the middle of the car. Our guns are trained on the opened door. He waves his hand at Lela, who silently sets the charges in the doorway behind us. She’s almost finished with the last one when one of the Mindless spots us.

  “Hominen inveni!” the Mindless yells.

  The door is torn apart in seconds. A dozen Mindless flood into the car. Bill opens fire with his automatic rifle and I follow suit. I land several good shots, but it takes twice the amount of bullets to kill a Mindless than any normal man. Bill has more luck, killing six before his magazine is empty. Eight more jump inside the car.

  “Clear the aisle!” Lela yells.

  I spin around and see her chuck something over our heads. Grenade. Bill yanks me by the shirt and we both dive behind a pair of empty seats. I curl into a ball on the ground just as the explosion rocks the car. A wave of heat and smoke blow past me accompanied by a loud ringing in my ears. I can’t hear Lela yelling at us, but I see her mouth moving. Bill is already up, unloading bullets at the cloud of smoke in the center aisle. “Fall back!” He orders us. I sprint toward the front of the car while Bill covers me. The disorientation from the blast still affects me and I nearly trip over my feet as I run to Lela. She looks annoyed, but then her eyes grow wide. I glance behind me and see a familiar face emerge.

  It’s Soshi.

  His once dark eyes have become illuminated and the skin around his neck is a metallic sheen characteristic of Navitas infection. Bill hesitates for a moment at the sight of his old friend. I can’t blame him. Soshi charges toward us. Bill releases a stream of gunfire at Soshi, but the bullets don’t slow him down. In one swift motion, Soshi knocks away Bill’s rifle and grabs him by the neck. Lela runs past me and blasts Soshi in the face with her shotgun. He crumples to the floor releasing his hold on Bill. More Mindless enter the car and advance on us.

  I pick up Bill’s rifle with my free hand and shoot both guns in my hands like a madman. Four Mindless are down, but the tram rattles hard again—signaling more have boarded. In the chaos, Lela helps her grandfather out of the car while I take up the rear position, firing at anyone following us. After I cross the linkage and the automatic doors close, I pull an emergency lever on the console nearby and hear the door lock trigger. “Blow the sixth car, Lela!” I yell, running behind her and Bill.

  “Hold him while I get the detonator,” she says, leaning Bill against a metal pole. He looks dazed and half-awake, but not infected—at least, I hope not. Lela pulls a small black remote from the leather satchel and clicks one of its buttons. Four simultaneous explosions erupt, blowing apart the metal door I locked. The bombs’ impact knocks me off balance, but I quickly regain my footing while holding Bill steady. He was right, the explosives weren’t as powerful as we expected. Through the open doorway, I can see the Mindless were blown back into the passenger car. Little by little, their disengaged car drifts away from us on the track—losing speed with every second. I’m relieved for a moment, but it’s short lived.

  Some of the Mindless have gotten up, and despite the growing distance between their car and ours, three of them have successfully leaped at the car and grabbed hold. “Time to go,” I say. “Take him.” I transfer Bill’s weight onto Lela.

  “What are you doing?” She asks, her nostrils flared.

  “Get to the front of the tram. I’ll hold them off and give you time to blow all the explosives. I’ll try to keep up. But if I can’t, the disengaged cars will slow them down so you can escape.” I say, making up my crazy plan as I go.

  “No,” she says. “You’re coming with us, Dex!”

  “Lela, please go.” I say just as one of the Mindless enters the car. She opens her mouth to object, but I yell before she speaks, “Go, Lela!” She gets it, turning away with Bill and running to the tram. I can’t be sure, but I think she had tears in her eyes.

  The first Mindless that steps into the car is shot down instantly. Five shots to the head and she falls. Two more get through the wrangled metal hole created by the explosion. The first is the creepiest Mindless I’ve seen. His bald head is like polished chrome, reflecting the light all around and his sunken eye sockets hold glowing blue orbs fixated on me. The skin on his arms and hands is translucent and reveals glowing veins saturated with Navitas. I aim the rifle at his silver skull, missing the first two shots. But when he closes in, I hit him with three bullets in the forehead. He falls dead on the ground and the next Mindless man charges at me. I aim and pull the trigger, but the rifle clicks. The clip is empty! He tackles me to the floor before I can reload.

  The man holds me down with his bony forearms on my chest. I try to push him off, but he’s surprisingly strong for an emaciated person. His breath smells like death and he keeps repeating the tired Mindless mantra, “hominem inveni.” I’m reaching for my father’s pistol tucked in my belt when the Mindless wraps a hand around my windpipe. This is how it ends. The Mindless always transmit Navitas by digging their fingers into a victim’s neck where the virus uploads to the Illumen implant. I don’t have an
implant, so I’ll die of asphyxiation if I don’t become infected with the virus. I’d rather be choked to death than turn Mindless.

  My vision is becoming blurred now. The Mindless stares me down with his cold glowing eyes. I stare back in defiance. I won’t die fearing this unthinking corpse who is a shell of the former person he used to be. My head spins, but a thunderous crash unseats the Mindless and knocks him aside. Heat and smoke suddenly rush from behind me. I prop myself up slowly, but it feels like a bag of bricks fell on my torso. I turn to look then it all becomes clear. Lela detonated the linkage to the fifth car. The Mindless stirs, but seven point blank shots from my pistol keep him down.

  The car begins its drift from the rest of the tram. I stand up and run to the doorway. The fifth car is a foot apart from the fourth when I jump the gap. I hit the landing, but lose my footing on account of my heavy backpack. I glance at the fifth car and watch it coast away from me. Outside, a group of Mindless are still running alongside the tram. Most of them are falling behind, except for one large man who gallops further then the rest. I squint my eyes to focus on him and panic when I recognize the hulking mass chasing the tram. It’s that robotic Mindless—the one who said I was “obsolete.” I shot him in the head at close range. How is he still alive?

  An explosion shakes the car. Before I can assess what’s happened, another follows in rapid succession. Lela must have detonated all the charges. She probably thinks I didn’t make it out alive. Gazing outside the fourth car’s rear doorway, I see the large Mindless gaining on me. His legs are a blur as he closes the distance with every passing second, like a marathon runner on steroids. I’ve stood here too long. I whirl around and my feet pound the carpeted floor of the passenger car, fleeing my pursuer. Up ahead, the third car has advanced much further than mine on the track. From my vantage point, I’d say it’s about a five-foot jump. I pump my legs faster, willing my muscles to cooperate as I approach the door. I take the leap without hesitation. Air whips all around me in the gap for a millisecond before I crash hard into the floor of the third car.

  My chest and legs are on fire, but I can’t stop now. I stand up preparing for my next run to the second car. It’s a slow start since I’m aching from the myriad of bruises I’ve endured over the last few days. The temptation to stop and sit down in one of the open passenger seats is overwhelming. But I’ll be dead if I do. With a heavy sigh, I run to the front of the car. My stomach wrenches when I see the length of the gap. It’s at least eight-feet long. I almost stop running on instinct. I can’t make that jump, I tell myself. But I push the thought away as I consider the alternative. Being caught in an abandoned rail car by dozens of Mindless, one of whom is eager to kill me. Even if I somehow escaped, how long would it last? You can make it. I repeat it in my mind with each step. You must make it.

  I feel my feet leave the edge of the car when I hurl my body through the air. There’s a moment where I almost feel as though I’m flying. It’s peaceful in that tiny instant. Like the world has frozen all around me and I’m floating across time and space. But it all comes crashing down. Gravity pulls me down toward the rushing track beneath me. The realization I’ve come up short hits me like a jab to the stomach. I throw my arms out to my left, reaching for a mangled metal bar jutting from the blown-apart doorway. I grab it in time, but the weight of my body and backpack almost cause me to lose hold. The sharp metal cuts into my palms as I grip it tighter. I try to ignore the pain while my feet search for a foothold. It’s futile. I’m dangling from the bar like clothes hung to dry. My upper arm strength is nonexistent, but I force myself to shimmy to the right, to the opening. It’s all the more difficult whenever the tram hits a bump or a curve on the track, jostling me back and forth. By some act of God, I retain my grip on the bar until my right foot touches the outer ledge of the opening. Once both feet are on firm ground, I collapse on the floor inside the car. A laugh escapes my mouth. I’m still alive.

  “Dex?” Bill’s familiar voice asks. I look up and see him standing at the end of the aisle, near the entrance to the driver car. He hobbles over and helps me up. “We thought you were—”

  “Not yet,” I say, out of breath. “But one of them was following me.”

  Bill scoffs. “Don’t worry, we’ve picked up considerable speed since we dumped the other cars. No Mindless can run as fast as we’re going. We’re only two miles away from the city. This’ll be over soon.”

  Will it? Everything I’ve heard about the city has been discouraging. Mindless everywhere, lack of food, looters and gangs lurking in every corner. But I’m too exhausted to argue, so I plop down in the nearest seat. The driver’s door slides open right then and Lela walks out.

  “Grandpa, the sensors are picking up something weird up ahead—” She stops talking when she catches sight of me. I expect a sardonic remark, but instead she sprints toward me and wraps her arms around my bruised body. I return the embrace. Lela pulls back then pushes me hard against the seat.

  “Hey!” I protest.

  “You idiot! Don’t ever do that again or I’ll kill you myself,” she says. Despite the scowl on her face, I can see the shimmer of tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. When did she start caring about me?

  I don’t get a chance to respond to this confusing mix of emotions. In an instant I’m knocked out of my seat by the force of something colliding with our car. The sound of twisting of metal and breaking glass rings in my ears, and before I can get up to see what caused it, I already know. It’s the robotic Mindless.

  Nineteen

  The large mechanical Mindless stands in front of the gaping hole in our tram car. His eyes glow with an intensity that is both vicious and inhuman. Traces of humanity are still present though; the blonde patches of hair on his head, the tanned skin of his bare chest, and the snarl his lips curl into as he examines us. But everything else—the exposed wires around his neck, the silver robotic hands, and the whir of his joints as he moves—betrays this man’s diseased nature. He takes a step toward Lela and me, but Bill moves to block his path.

  It’s a stupid move.

  The Mindless backhands Bill and he reels backward onto the floor. Blood stains the carpet. Lela runs to her grandfather’s side before I can stop her. But the Mindless ignores her. His attention is on me. “You are obsolete,” he says clearly. In one fluid motion, he dashes and yanks me from the floor by the collar of my shirt. I kick wildly at his chest, hoping to get free, but it’s useless. He probably can’t even feel pain.

  With his free hand, he pinches the nape of my neck with cold, metal fingers. He grips tighter and pain radiates from my neck to the rest of my body. Is this what it’s like to become infected? How long will my thoughts be my own before Navitas takes over?

  There’s a shotgun blast. The Mindless loosens his grip, allowing me to wriggle out of his grasp. I fall to the floor and watch Lela pump her shotgun before shooting again at the Mindless’ head. The shot brings him down on all fours, but he’s still alive—if I can call it that. Lela is ready to give him another blast of pellets, but I can already see she won’t be fast enough. The Mindless rears up like a lion ready to pounce and smacks the weapon from Lela’s hands before she registers what’s happened.

  I dive in front of her as the Mindless reaches to grab her. He clutches my backpack instead. With a sudden heave, the Mindless lifts me off the ground by my pack. He tosses me over Lela’s head and I crash into a row of seats several feet away. The pain from the fall is excruciating. Pretty sure I’ve broken a rib or two.

  “Dex!” Lela screams. Her yelling is deafened by the loud smack of a fist. He’s going to kill her!

  I try to scramble to my feet, but my legs are like gelatin—resisting to hold my weight. When I finally stand, I feel lighter and for a moment, I’m afraid I’ll pass out. But the lightness isn’t in my head. I am lighter. The Mindless tore off my backpack when he hurled me across the car. The pack is sitting near Bill’s unconscious body to my right. A glint of metal catches my eye. The sa
murai sword. It’s free from the scabbard next to the backpack. I make a run for it, but the Mindless gets there first. He rears back and smashes my face with his metal fist.

  I’m face down on the ground again, warm blood oozing out of my nose. The Mindless towers over me triumphantly as I wipe my bloodied face on my sleeve. Part of me wants to lie here and let him kill me. It would be easy to embrace death and join my parents. But then I remember Cassidy. The Grays. Bill and Lela. People who need me to stay alive. Slowly, I rise to a crouched position despite the explosion of pain in my body.

  The Mindless rears back and swings a fist down on my head. I dodge it by ducking under his arm and rolling on the ground. Now I’m behind him and closer to the sword. I snatch it, surging with confidence and adrenaline. I can do this. My hands grip the sword tight and I take the basic guard stance I practiced for hours in my room so long ago. When the Mindless charges at me, I swipe the sword in an upward arc at his neck. The stroke is effortless and fluid, but it doesn’t connect. The blade clangs against the palm of his hand as he catches it before I slice into his neck. His glare is the last thing I see before a bolt of electricity shoots out of the sword and strikes his face.