by T. C. Edge
“OK, enough of all of this,” he said. “Release my restraints, and I’ll take you to the data.”
Ragan hesitated. He glanced at Nadia, then Chloe. Both stood by, rifles in hand. Tanner remained on the falcon and out of sight.
Ragan stepped forward, drawing a key from his belt. Tentatively, he moved in and bent down, unchaining the ankle restraints first. Then he stood, doing the same with Mikel’s wrists. The nano-vamp smiled, shut his eyes, and with his hands free, suddenly spun around.
He took everyone by surprise, wrapping Ragan up into a grapple, turning him in front of his allies to block their fire. Chloe was taken aback. Nadia stiffened. A very quick scuffle broke out, before Mikel pushed hard and suddenly, thrusting Ragan away from him and towards the two girls.
Ragan stumbled, but kept his footing. He righted himself, spinning around and pulling his pistol from its holster, aiming it right at the vamp and ready to fire as he fled.
He didn’t fire, because Mikel wasn’t fleeing. He just stood there, face mirthful and creased into a glowing smile. He tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and let out a bountiful laugh.
“Oh, forgive me,” he called out. “I was just having a bit of fun.”
“Fun! You call that fun!” roared Ragan, finger so close to pulling on the trigger. Tanner had emerged as well, drawn out by the commotion. His rifle pointed from the top of the ramp. Mikel had four guns on him.
The vamp lifted his hands to the sky, still chuckling. His palms were partially concealed by the long sleeves of his cloak. He stood there, wreathed in black and so prominent against the earthy tones of the prairie; the greens and browns, the yellows and oranges.
“Honestly, Agent Hunt, I just couldn’t resist,” he said, arms starting to lower. “I may never get to see you again. I couldn’t deny myself the tussle.”
He laughed loudly once more, shaking his head. The four guns that pointed at him didn’t move an inch.
“So serious,” went on Mikel, studying the group. His hands dropped further. “So deadly serious.”
His eyes lit up with a sudden fire, shading white. The smile on his lips turned distorted, twisted, ugly. Chloe watched, unnerved, and the dots on her neck flared with a sudden pain. She winced, drawing Ragan’s eye. It was only a glance, but it was enough.
With his hands now low, Mikel suddenly let loose a tiny device from his palm. It was a clip, and nothing more. Thin, small. And stolen from Ragan’s belt.
Chloe saw it too late. She recognised it too late.
The sensory grenade went off, burning with an impossible light. The white shards cut into Chloe’s brain, stabbed right through her eyes. A horrible screeching noise ripped into her ears, more intense than she’d ever heard. Her skull rattled and blazed, her senses lost. Stolen.
Instinctively, she raised her hands to her ears, dropping her rifle. She was deaf save for the shrieking. She was blind save for the light. The assault was relentless, unending, brutal. She felt as though she’d never see or hear again. Never see Ragan’s face. Never hear his voice. She was lost, and she knew the others were too. Lost in a temporary void. Lost…
But no. Not lost. Not Chloe!
A thought came to mind, her wits blazing to life.
She had other eyes for seeing, other ears for hearing. Through the maelstrom of her mind, she drew back her focus, turned away from her pain. And slowly, the world came into view again. She saw what Remus saw.
She was high up now, hovering, thirty metres from the ground. Below, she could see the farm and its litter of decrepit structures. Away down the track, the falcon sat. And outside of it, she saw herself, hands to ears, down on her knees. She didn’t even realise she’d dropped to the floor.
Ragan was nearby, and Nadia too, Tanner at the top of the ramp. All had their hands to their ears as she did. Tanner was also on his knees. Every one of them held terrible grimaces to their faces. Only Ragan was trying to move, trying to feel his way forward. Chloe could see his mouth moving, his lungs roaring. No one would be able to hear it, not even himself. But it was clear enough what words were coming from his mouth.
No, not words.
Word.
Mikel! he was roaring. Mikel!
55
Chloe watched on from on high, her own body still locked in a prison of bright light and piercing sound. Her perception via Remus’ sensors was growing muddy, obscured by the dizzying sensation now spreading through her mind. She directed the drone’s eyes down, searching for Mikel.
The data! she thought. Is the data really here?
She scanned the world below, searching for movement through the growing shroud. How long had it been since the sensory grenade went off? How long would the effects last?
She thought of several days before, when Ragan had used the very same device to repel Mikel as he hunted them down in LA. Ragan had said it would keep him off their trail. He’d said it would last several minutes…
Suddenly, bursting from one of the buildings, she saw a black shape spread out into the sunshine. Remus picked it up immediately, relaying to Chloe’s nanites. Through the veil that smothered her senses, she noted the shape of Mikel hurry out of the main farmhouse. He rushed out into the dirt in the direction of the falcon.
No! Chloe thought, turning Remus to look down the track. Her friends were still blinded and deaf. She was still blinded and deaf. They’re undefended. We’re undefended!
She could do little but watch as Mikel hurried towards the jet, and the four bodies sprawled around it. All of them continued to writhe and grimace, hands to ears and eyes blinking wildly as if trying to repel the light. Mikel hurried onwards, moving up towards the group. He slowed as he got there, eyes turning on each of them, one by one.
They landed on Chloe last. They stopped.
No…
I have to do something! Chloe thought. Her body was unprotected, her head still throbbing violently. It was such a strange experience, seeing herself from Remus’ vantage, the world slightly blurred and distorted by the attack on her senses. She could see Mikel standing there above her, enjoying the moment. She could imagine his fangs extending, ready to feast. She could imagine watching her life drained away, her nanites drained away, and her link to Remus severed.
Remus. Save me. Guide me, she thought. The thought was a command. Get in closer!
Remus moved, flying towards the jet a hundred yards away. He lowered, got closer. The scene came into better view, new details appearing. Chloe could see Ragan rising to his feet, as if sensing Mikel was nearby. His hands were out, feeling like a blind man who’d only just lost his sight. She could see his lips parting, mouth still roaring.
“Mikel!” he was saying. “Mikel!”
Yet no one could hear his words, not above the terrible ringing. Only Mikel, only the man who would kill them, feast on them one by one, could hear.
Chloe could see him turning to Ragan as he began swinging his arms. He even got close, blindly fumbling ahead and trying to take Mikel down.
He stumbled, tripping over Nadia’s cowering frame. Ragan’s body collapsed into a tangle of limbs, reaching out to break his fall as he hit the ground. Nadia’s face grew in surprise. She felt it.
Now she was flailing too, arms out, wondering just who it was who’d tripped onto her. Ragan scrambled back to his feet, his sense of direction lost. He began reaching out with his hands again, moving off in the wrong direction. Mikel’s neck twisted, eyes watching as he went. Then he turned back on Chloe.
The distraction, however, had been enough. Enough for Remus to get close, to take a position above Mikel’s head. He fed his view to Chloe. She saw it all inside her head. And unlike Ragan, and now Nadia, flailing around wildly, she knew exactly where Mikel was.
The bizarre sensation continued, as she watched her body cower and crouch low. Mikel took another step forward, teeth now fully extended. He reached out, ready to take her up, ready to hold her as he sank his teeth into her neck. He thought her blind. He thought he
r deaf. But no…Chloe could see it all.
Her hands were hidden, tucked away and beyond Mikel’s sight. Those hands were charging, sparks dancing upon their surface like raindrops on a pond. She could feel the electricity, the power warming her skin. She could feel the energy coursing through her veins. The adrenaline pumped, spreading through her nanites, activating their most devastating setting. The power in her hands felt like fire, blue fire about to be set free.
She watched from above as Mikel drew forward. Ragan and Nadia continued to search, blinking, roaring in a bid to break free of their sensory constraints. Tanner, up on the ramp, was now clambering to his feet too, feeling for his rifle.
Chloe hunkered lower. She could see the glow of blue now beginning to trickle from her cowering form. If Remus could see it - if she could see it - then Mikel would do.
He stopped, hesitating. Realising
Now or never, Chloe thought.
Using Remus to guide the direction of her attack, she suddenly opened up her frame, revealing her burning blue hands. She reached forward, arms holding steady, fingers splayed in the direction of her foe. And from their tips, a devastating pulse of violent lightning shot.
Shards of twisted blue and white sprung from her fingers. Only a metre or so away, Mikel had nowhere to go, no time to flee or dodge. Chloe could just about see his face from on high. The shock. The surprise. Even the fear.
The wave of electricity reached him in a flash, jagged, burning streaks entangling his body. The force of the blast threw him back, his frame tumbling through the air and into the dirt. He hit with a thud, rolling, sparks of silver and sapphire consuming him. His body shook, convulsing, as the energy attacked.
Chloe’s hands stayed facing forward. The lightning had been so violent as to spark off in different directions. She saw its tendrils reaching for Nadia, and for Ragan, just off to the side. The sparks zapped and ripped at them, causing little spirals of smoke and mist to rise from their clothes.
The attack was over in a moment, an awful surge of destructive power. Chloe drew the energy back, calming her fingers. The blue glow became muted. The world began to calm.
She looked down via Remus, and saw Mikel lying still. His black cloak was singed all over, dark pillars of smoke billowing up on the breeze. Chloe watched, tense, still locked out of her own senses. Yet the shroud was starting to fade now, the white light dispersing, the piercing sound of ringing beginning to dull.
Still she looked on at her quarry. Mikel lay static, as if dead. Several seconds passed, then several more. Gradually, the tension in Chloe’s body eased, a breath of relief escaping…
Mikel moved.
Chloe started.
The vamp rose up to his feet in a sudden, swift movement, as if jolted back to life by some reincarnation spell. He stood, smoking like a burning mound of black coal, then cast off his cloak in a flash, revealing his tall frame in its sleek black suit. Chloe’s heart lurched in shock. No one could survive an attack like that…
Her hands began to blaze blue once more. The energy began to build. Mikel turned on her, face ashen, eyes white. Snarling lips revealed long, sharp fangs. He crouched low like a beast, ready to avoid the incoming lightning, ready to rush in and feast.
But no. He stopped. Eyes turned behind him, back towards the buildings. On instinct, Chloe commanded Remus to do the same. The drone searched to the grouping of buildings, to the rising ridge beyond.
Soldiers. Soldiers were streaming down from the distance, crouching low with weapons to their shoulders, a dozen of them in battle formation. They wore the same black garb as Chloe and her friends, hurrying for the buildings and the crippled strike team beyond.
Mikel saw them, and acted in an instant. He flew off, rushing right at Chloe and past her, hurdling her frame as he came near. He ran for the small jet, and jumped inside. The thing began to purr, jump-jet spouts burning with an intense blue flame.
Chloe didn’t know what to do, or where to look. Who were these people? Not friends of Mikel, clearly. Not allies to the vamp. Her mind rushed as the little jet began to rise, lifting off into the air. She turned, hands sparking once more. Lightning gathered, ready to strike. She reached forward, set to fire at the fleeing nano-vamp, set to disable his jet and send it crashing down to earth.
She was too late. He was too quick. The jet hummed and roared, and as her fingers began to fire, the jet moved off. Not at pace. Not like the falcon. But quick enough.
It flew high, arching into a steady climb, speeding into the bright blue air. Chloe grimaced, though continued to watch from Remus’ eyes. It was weird to act from one place, and see from another. Briefly, she returned to her true form, seeing the world from her real eyes. The white sheet that covered them was still fading, the world ahead starting to come into view. Noises sounded, those of voices, of rushing feet.
She could just about see the soldiers ahead, hazy forms in the distance. And right before her, Nadia and Ragan, no longer searching with outstretched arms. They too were recovering their sight, their hearing, taking in the soldiers hurrying from the farm.
A voice called out.
“Into the jet!” It was loud, an absolute roar. Ragan’s voice, shouting over the ringing in his ears. Chloe saw him turning, his form still misty to her eyes. He seemed to be counting out his allies, taking in their forms, making sure they were OK.
Chloe shut her eyes again, and returned her sight to Remus. The drone dropped lower in the sky, watching the soldiers advance from the farm. The men were pouring forward, weapons lifting.
Firing!
The sound of gunshots rattled loudly. Down below, Ragan was stumbling towards the ramp, gathering up Nadia as he went. Chloe was on her feet, watching from behind as she looked at herself through her drone. She was watching herself move, as if playing a video game. As if she was a character on a screen, unwieldly and hard to control.
She moved uneasily towards the ramp. Tanner was coming to as well, reaching out and grabbing her.
“Chloe, is that you?!” she could just about hear him call.
“Yes!” she shouted, the ringing still fading in her ears.
“Ragan? Nadia?” Tanner’s voice was strained. Chloe could see his eyes were stark, squinting, and blinking, desperately trying to recover.
“They’re coming,” Chloe called. She looked over her shoulder. Two misty forms were stumbling towards the ramp in a crouch, huddled close together. Bullets began sizzling past, some crunching into the dirt at their feet.
Chloe turned, Remus flying just over her shoulder now. He was watching the incoming bullets, analysing their trajectories. He fed the information to Chloe, and she could almost see the rounds, moving out of their flightpaths as they hunted her down. With a sudden rush, she ducked and stepped to the bottom of the ramp, grabbing at the murky forms and pulling them in the right direction.
Together, all three - Chloe, Ragan, and Nadia - reached the ramp again and hurled themselves aboard. Bullets clanged against the metal, still chattering loudly from the distance. Chloe drew Remus inside too, terrified he might get hit.
Get in here, Remus! she ordered desperately. Get in here now!
Ragan was calling as well, calling to Tanner.
“To the cockpit! Get us in the air!”
Tanner fumbled forward, Ragan following. Nadia was finding her way towards the controls. All had used the falcon enough times to be able to move quickly to their stations, even with their eyesight so obscured.
But Chloe’s sight was now returning, and returning fast, the effects of the sensory grenade wearing off. She knew it would be the same for the others. The interior of the falcon came into clearer view, her ears now suffering with a dull throb only. She saw an errant rifle at the top of the ramp, just inside the jet. She picked it up as Nadia began tapping at the controls, retracting the ramp back into the aircraft.
The men were getting closer. I have to slow them down, Chloe thought. She set the rifle to her shoulder, aimed around the edge o
f the door, and fired right back at them, peppering the prairies with boiling lead. She shot randomly, not caring to be precise; she only wanted to hold them off as they came.
It worked. The men stopped, suddenly, dropping to the earth for cover. Chloe continued to shoot, the side of the falcon peppered with return fire. Bullets bounced and ricocheted off the hull, unable to get through its thick hide.
“Chloe, get back!” called Nadia.
Chloe looked over to see Nadia slamming her hand on a red button. The ramp was already retracted, but now the doors started to close, sliding down from the top. Bullets still raged from the unknown assailants, some finding their way into the jet. Nadia tore a pistol from her waist and joined Chloe in covering the retreat.
The two girls fired from either side of the door, forcing the attackers to hunker down and hide. Chloe thought she got one, a burst of red splashing in the distance against the warm orange hues. Nadia hit her mark too, dropping a soldier to the floor with a direct hit to the head, bullet cutting straight through his visor. He fell, head cracking back with the force. Dead.
The door continued to slide shut, dropping quickly now. Beneath their feet, the jet was starting to hum, groaning with a low, guttural roar and preparing to lift off vertically. It left the dirt, landing feet hinging back up, just as the door came down, shutting out the light.
The interior fell into shadow. The deafening sound of gunshots outside quietened, as if heard suddenly though water.
With a heavy breath, Chloe fell to the ground, wheezing and blinking the final white light from her eyes. She looked over at Nadia, who sat back against the wall, panting, face stark yet eyes in control. They could hear bullets chiming against the jet’s exterior, singing their metallic, unpleasant song.
The jet continued to rise, lifting higher into the air. Chloe could hear the men calling loudly from the cockpit, urging the falcon to move quicker.
“Hit it, Cliff, hit it!” Ragan was calling, voice carrying down the passage.
Nadia lurched to her feet at the words, hurrying over to Chloe. She grabbed her, pulling her to her feet. The two girls moved straight for their seats, dropping in just in time as the falcon rumbled heavily, before taking off at a sudden speed that had Chloe and Nadia pinned to the back of their chairs.