AMP- Aftermath

by Brian K. Larson

  “Does it not bother you one bit that we just broke into this man’s business?”

  “Yeah, Jim,” Luella answered as she inspected the display case, “It does bother me a great deal. But it’s the apocalypse, so I don’t think the owner’s gonna mind too much.”

  “Look here,” Jim pointed in another case, “Just what the doctor ordered.”

  Luella stepped over next to Jim and looked down, “That right there, Jim, is a thing of beauty.”

  “Two vintage Glocks,” Jim smiled.

  “Looks like it’s a his and hers special today.”

  Taking the stapler sitting on the glass counter, Jim smashed the glass, “Nice pair of Glocks’.”

  Luella reached through the broken glass and removed the two guns. Finding two holsters, they each strapped them to their hips.

  “There’s some ammo on those shelves,” then Luella stopped in her tracks. She studied another glass case in the back room, “Will ya’ lookie at what I just found?”

  “What’s that, Lue?” Jim asked as he stuffed a bag full of ammo.

  “It’s a Bushmaster ARC enhanced rifle.”

  “Nice! Why do you get all the good toys?”

  “I don’ know, just lucky I guess?”

  “Well, as luck will have it, I see they have all the rounds you’ll need for that here too.”

  “Good! This one comes with thirty round clips.”

  “You sure there isn’t another one of those back there?”

  “Well, let me have another look,” Luella dug around in the back room, “Nah, nothing you’d be interested in.”

  “How about you let me be the judge of that? Did you find something?”

  “It’s just an FN Scar semi-auto, also with thirty round clips.”

  “Oh, nice one, Lue. This guy has a Scar semi?”

  Luella held up the rifle, “Well, if that’s what this old thing is, then yes, this guy has a Scar in stock.”

  “Oh, man, Lue. I think I’m in love with you.”

  “I bet you say that to all the, gun wielding, girls.”

  “Nah, just one.”

  Luella tossed the rifle across the room, Jim caught it in mid-air, “Thanks, Lue.”

  “Hey, how’s that ankle feeling?”

  Jim looked down, noticing he was bearing his full weight, “I think it’s better.”

  “Good. You ready to head out?”

  Jim finished loading rounds in his new weapon’s clip and clicked into place. Let’s finish loading the rest of these clips so we’re ready for anything. Then we’ll head our way north to the crash site.”

  Chapter 6

  Downtown Seattle

  January 17, 2068 12:35

  Hargrove led Tonya, Matt, Sly and the three marines from the Saratoga into the alien territory. Crossing their own barrier, they slowly made their way closer to the alien barricade.

  With his blaster rifle armed and ready, he held it in a crouch run to another wall down the street. Motioning to his three marines, they escorted Tonya, Matt and Sly forward.

  The six came to Hargrove’s position, looking down each direction for any aliens.

  “The alien barrier is six blocks to the south, crossing all of Mercer Avenue. If you look with field glasses, you can see it from here. “Basically. Theirs encompasses the entire Denny Triangle.”

  “So, we have our own barrier and the aliens are constructing theirs?” Sly asked.

  “Yes, we have to protect the Saratoga and its perimeter. Ours is all across Roy and all of Valley. Right across the lower tip of Lake Union, where the Saratoga crashed. With the guns the General is having my men strip from the ship, will go a long way in keeping them out.”

  “It seems,” Matt added, “the Aliens don’t want us in their area either.”

  “Must be something pretty important if they need to use up a ton of resources keeping us out,” Tonya nodded.

  “I agree,” Hargrove answered, “How far in were you guys?”

  “We were at the Palomino Club. That’s about nine blocks from the Saratoga line,” Sly responded. “Just off Lenora and 6th Ave.”

  “C’mon,” Hargrove instructed with a wave of his arm, “Let’s move another block in.”

  Hargrove and the three marines escorted Matt, Tonya and Sly to the next block before taking cover in the closest ally.

  Poking his head out, Hargrove looked down each direction, “That was pretty gutsy of you guys moving through that part of the city on your own.”

  “Well,” Tonya began, “It’s not like we had much choice. We saw the Saratoga crash. We figured that’s the best place to head.”

  Sly held his hand up, “Shhh, I hear something!”

  The group listened intently.

  “Clinkers!” Matt shouted, “On your six!”

  Hargrove turned down the darkness of the alley and opened fire on several mechanical cyborg heading their way. Tonya and Matt took aim with their blasters and added to the fray. Sly ducked around the corner, just missing a blaster bolt which took out part of the brick wall on the corner.

  Pointing his blaster around the corner, Sly began sending his own blaster shot down the alley.

  Two of the front metallic cyborgs knelt down, holding a shield to protect the rest of their squad.

  Blue blaster shot fired down the alley. Tonya fired her weapon with her right and rose a protective shield of her own with her left, “I don’t know how long we can hold them off!”

  “There’s too many of them!” Sly shouted before turning to face down the side of the street, “We have more on your nines!”

  Matt turned his blaster fire at the three additional mechanical clinkers approaching down the block.

  The three marines each took turns firing down the alley at the six mechanicals and down the street at the approaching three.

  Matt and Sly cut two of the clinkers down fairly quickly. The last one succeeded in raising a protective shield. The blue baster shot hit the shield, ricocheting into all directions. Two bolts were sent back to Matt and Sly. The two fell to the ground, their weapons ceased firing as they caught themselves with their hands.

  The six mechanical clinkers slowly advanced down the alley, two of them sending blue plasma bolts, the other two armed with rail-shot.

  The three marines broke up. Two headed down the opposite street, ducking down the next side alley.

  The lead marine tapped his headset before they took off, “Going down to flank them, Sir!”

  The two marines fell into position at the next junction. Taking a lying stance, they extended their machine-gun tripod and aimed down the alley, as their bodies slammed onto the ground.

  The third marine continued firing over Matt and Sly’s head as they grabbed their weapons in their lying position and began firing at the cyborg legs.

  The six mechanicals crossed the alley, the two flanking marines opened fire with their fifty-caliber automatics, tearing apart one shield holder and two firing clinkers into metal debris. Three of the mechanicals fell to their knees, the last shield weakened with Tonya’s blaster shot. Her never ending barrage of weapons fire diminished the shielding enough for the third marine to charge back to the alley. With the combined marine fire from the cyborg flank, the first six clinkers were eliminated, returning the alley to quiet.

  The two marines grabbed their weapons off the ground as they stood to their feet and ran around the corner to return to the rest.

  As they rounded the corner, the two marines saw the remains of the last mechanical cyborg bursting into flames and blowing apart. The shrapnel dispersed outward, causing the group to duck for cover.

  Hargrove held his weapon at the ready and a fist pump with is free, “Listen… it’s all quiet again…”

  They listened to the noises of burning fires in the distance. A stray newspaper blew down the street.

  “It’s eerie,” Tonya whispered, taking a knee to rest.

  Matt stood with his weapon, also at the ready facing their backside, “H
ow did we ever get through before is a big mystery.”

  “What building did you leave Lue and Jim at,” Hargrove asked.

  Tonya pointed south down the street, “Five more blocks is the building we jumped to on the left side of the street. I can’t imagine Lue staying put on the sixth roof for long. There’s a three-legged regenerating there.”

  “Not to mention the hoard of creatures infesting the lower levels we saw.”

  “We need to find them pretty soon,” the lead Marine nodded, “I can’t see them surviving long in this zone. They’d be cut down to shreds pretty quickly if they met half this force on the streets.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on that, Sargent,” Tonya balked. “Lue is badass! She and Jim will be fine!”

  “Still,” Hargrove added, “No disrespect, Tonya, but he’s right. We need to keep moving.”

  Matt held his radio up, “We should be in range for this now.”

  “Give it a try, Matt,” Hargrove nodded.

  Matt held the device to his mouth and depressed the transmit button, “Lue… Jim… come in… this is Matt… do you copy?”

  Matt released the transmit button and listened to static before the radio screeched loudly. Reaching for the volume, he turned it down as the others held their ears.

  “What the hell was that?”

  Matt clicked off the radio, recoiled his arm and toss it as far he could before taking aim and shooting it out of the air. The radio exploded into thousands of pieces, showering the city street.

  Tonya shoved Matt as she grabbed his shoulder, “What in the hell are you doing?”

  “It’s the aliens, Tonya.”

  Hargrove motioned for the rest, “Keep moving. He’s right. They jammed the frequency. I’m sure they were able to zone in on that transceiver. We can expect company any time!”

  Hargrove moved the team ahead another block. The three marines continued at the ready, covering their three, six, and nine positions as they crouched low along the city streets.

  Pressing their backs to the wall just inside the next alley, Hargrove poked his head out and then darted back in and whispered, “We’ve got another squad patrolling ahead.”

  Matt looked around the corner at the low side and then back again, “I count five clinkers moving east and away from our position.”

  “Hold fast, everyone,” Hargrove ordered. “We’ll wait for that squad to move away.”

  One of the marines looked out in the direction they came from and darted back, “Don’t look now. We’ve got another squad of five behind us. They’re going to try and surround us.”

  Hargrove pointed at two of the marines, “Zeke and Russell, head down this alley and try to flank that squad. We’ll hold up here for another minute before we advance to the next block.”

  The two marines nodded their orders and took off down the alley.

  “They’re good men,” Hargrove acknowledged, “Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine.” Hargrove pointed at the last marine, “Chuck, you take point this time, I’ll take the rear.”

  “Aye, Sir.”

  With another wave of his arm, Hargrove ordered them along, “Move out…”

  The marine stepped out in the open, Matt, Tonya and Sly followed before Hargrove took the rear position.

  As they crossed the intersection, fifty caliber gunshots rang out from the alley, followed by blasters echoing as the group ducked into the next alley.

  “That’ll be Zeke and Russ… listen,” Hargrove ordered, “I think they got ‘em. No more blaster shots.”

  “Unless the chrome-jobs got them first.”

  “I don’t think so, Matt,” Hargrove answered.

  Just another block and we’ll be near the building we left from, Hargrove,” Tonya nodded.

  Chuck peeked around the corner and looked down the block before recoiling once more, “This place is crawling with clinkers, Major. Two more squads, each on opposite sides of the block. They’re doing sentry duty.”

  Tonya went up and cautiously looked around the corner, “That’s the building we came out of, Hargrove. They know where we’re going.”

  “Did they detect us?” Hargrove asked.

  “No,” Tonya answered, “They seem to be oblivious to us.”

  Hargrove looked around the corner from where they just came and ducked back, “That’s Zeke and Russ! They’re charging us…”

  The warrior cries echoed down the streets as the two marines ran with their fifty caliber automatics aimed at Hargrove and the rest.

  Tonya stepped out and raised a shield from a new self-amp charge she brought up with the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

  The two marines opened fire, riddling Tonya’s shield, each round stopped and became suspended in midair. Hargrove stepped out into the protection of Tonya’s shield and returned fire at his own men.

  They stopped, fell to their prone position and raised a shield of their own while continuing to send their barrage of gun fire at them.

  Tonya’s shield began to weaken when the two marines began flailing their arms as they fired from their prone position. Their shield fell as two individuals riddled the two marines, killing them instantly.

  Hargrove ran to his men, “Russ! Zeke! What the hell!?”

  Kneeling by his two dead mean, he saw green goo, oozing from their ears and nose. He shot back to his feet and pointed his weapon down the direction of the two shooters.

  Out of the shadows stepped Luella and Jim, holding their weapons in the air and to the side, but at the ready.

  Tonya shrieked as she let her shield down and ran to her friend, “Luella! You’re alright!”

  The two embraced as Jim extended his hand to Hargrove, “I’m Jim. We’re the two you came for. Sorry about your men. They were captured by two green squids. The only option was to hit from the rear.”

  The sounds of the gun fire alerted the two sentries as Chuck watched the two squads arm their blasters and began marching in their direction.

  “We gotta move out, now!” Hargrove ordered.

  “Follow us,” Luella pointed with her weapon, “Jim and I have been held up down here. It’s not far.”

  The group followed Luella and Jim as they ran down a backstreet before descending down a cement staircase to a room below.

  “Where is this place?” Hargrove asked.

  “We found an access door down here from the pawn shop above us,” Luella answered.

  “I’m guessing that’s where you scored the hardware?” Hargrove smiled.

  “Yeah, you could say that,” Luella winked toward Jim.

  Jim chuckled as he glanced at Luella, “We had a couple close ones. Don’t get me wrong. We fought our way at every point.”

  “Look,” Luella said, stepping over to a table. The sidewalk skylight dimly illuminated the cellar as she pointed to a set of handmade drawings, “I made a sketch of the city and every point we know the aliens are at.”

  “You had time to draw a map?” Tonya asked.

  “Well, it took you all long enough to come for us. We mostly stayed put. If we ventured out alone, we likely would not have made it back.”

  “I told ya’,” Chuck said, folding his arms.

  Hargrove gave his Sergeant a stern look, “You keep your comments to yourself, mister, clear?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Chuck said, clearing his throat, “Sorry, Sir.”

  “As I was saying, it’s pretty evident. You see it?”

  Hargrove examined the map, before pointed to several locations, “These are the points they’re covering?”

  “Exactly,” Luella agreed, “That’s the same thing we thought.”

  Sly looked at the drawing, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the point, no?”

  “The circumference is the exact circumference of an alien sphere.”

  Matt rubbed his chin, “That’s what they’re protecting so much. They’re growing another sphere.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing you got out of there when you did,” Har
grove nodded.

  “Their perimeter is pretty solid,” Jim said, before pointing, “This was the last position and looks like they’ve finished and settled in.”

  “We have to get back to the ship and tell the General,” Hargrove ordered. “You still have access to upstairs?”

  “Yes, the clinkers never discovered us after we left the building,’ Luella nodded.

  “Let’s go arm us up with everything that shop has, I think we’re gonna need it.”

  “Right this way,” Luella said, waving her arm.

  Chapter 7

  Saratoga Crash Site

  January 17, 2068 12:45

  Trudy and Snaggletooth made their way inside the crashed Saratoga. Once inside, they walked on a fifteen-degree incline as the ship listed to its left.

  “It’s going to be rather dicey getting that accelerator relocated.”

  “You’re tellin’ me,” Snaggletooth agreed.

  “You remember where Hargrove told us it’s located?”

  “Yes, we have to make our way up two more levels from here and nearly center ship.”

  “If the ship still has some power, we can amp up before we move the thing,” Trudy offered.

  “Most of the power is out. Only emergency lighting.”

  “And those backup batteries won’t last but a few more hours.”

  “Over here,” Snaggletooth pointed, “Our first access to the above decks is over that way.”

  Turning the corridor, they descended down the incline, to the left with the listing direction before arriving at the leaning ladder.

  “I’ll go up this causeway first,” Snaggletooth offered, grabbing for rungs on the ladder.

  He climbed hand over hand, his feet slowly following up the slanted ladder, “Hold on tight, Trudy, It’s not the easiest climb.”

  “How are we ever going to pass the equipment down these shafts?”

  “With great care, Trudy, with great care.”

  “Maybe we can find a spare power block to hook up to one of the ship’s freight elevator?”

  “That’s possible, but could be a strain on the lifts mechanisms being on this tilt.”