Floor 21- Dark Angel

by Jason Luthor

  That gets him smiling. “Well, I’ve got to do more than just shoot guns around this place.”

  “Long day on the range?”

  “Yeah. Teaching guys how to shoot a gun’s a lot harder than it was for me to learn how to fire one.”

  “You know you were always a natural with that, though.” I point at myself. “It’s not like all of us were born with that gift.”

  “I know. I know. I’ve just been worried lately. I don’t know. I guess I’m just feeling a lot of pressure with all this talk about heading south and taking on the Tank.”

  Just the mention of it makes my eyes want to rocket out of my head. “Feels like everyone in the militia’s talking about her.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you have someone causing as much trouble as she is. We’ve been fighting raiders for, what? Half a year now?”

  “Maybe a little longer. First time we ever fought them off was after we got out of the Tower.”

  “That’s right. When we ran into Cynthia and her sister.”

  “And the rest of the colonists.”

  “Sometimes it doesn’t feel real, you know? I almost can’t believe we’ve been out here that long.”

  “I know. I guess I didn’t realize how long we’d be settling down for when we first came to Central. I mean, I think I just always assumed that we’d . . . I don’t know. It’s hard to say, I think. I just always thought we’d find out what happened . . . Maybe go back to the Tower. Free everyone.”

  “It’s taken us this long just to learn what’s out here. We’ve done more exploring of the city because of Central than we ever could have alone.”

  “I’m not arguing that,” I tell him, and I want to be forceful, but I’ve never been the type of person to start arguments. I guess I’m always trying to be diplomatic about things. “What I’m trying to say is . . . I wonder what’s happening back there. I miss people. My family, for one thing.”

  His head dips down, and he takes this deep breath. “I wasn’t ever real close to my dad. With the way he drank, and the way he treated me, it was hard to really feel close. That doesn’t mean I don’t wonder what the old man’s doing these days. And, I know you were close with your parents. I wish I had answers for you.”

  “I just wish we could start doing something about it. Like, maybe if we started trying to push toward the other Towers. Maybe we could find out how this all started and find an answer to all of it. Find some way to get rid of the Creep.”

  “I don’t want to be a downer or anything, Dodger. I’m just saying . . . What if there are no answers? What if there is no way to get rid of the infection?”

  I feel like the air’s sucking out of my lungs when he says it. “You don’t . . . You’re not saying we’re never going back, right?”

  “What? No.”

  “Because I need to see my family again one day, Tommy.”

  “I know. I know.” His hand slides over his head as he leans into the table. “I’m not saying anything, okay? I know you’re right. We have to go back one day. Maybe I’m just enjoying life without having to worry all the time that something’s waiting to kill me. That can’t be so bad.”

  “It’s not, but don’t you think I want the same thing for my mom and dad? Tommy, I love them.”

  “I get it. You’re right. You’re right. Look, I’m just saying, it took us a while to get settled down here. We’re on our feet, we know there are other Towers. Come on. Central Freedom’s built on Old World tech, and Fort Silence is practically built into an old Apeiron military base. At some point, we’re going to have to uncover something that helps us learn how to deal with the Creep. But . . . even if we never did, I promise, I’d be the first one back in that Tower trying to find a way to get you back to your parents.”

  “Yeah.”

  He looks up at me as he leans back in his chair. “You know . . . You know I’d do anything for you, Dodger. Tiffany.”

  Nobody ever uses my real name anymore. Most people at Central don’t even know it. So, when he says it, I can practically feel my face turning red. “Um, time to eat. Definitely time to eat.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get too deep on you there,” he says with a laugh. He starts digging into his food, and I start scarfing down mine. “I promise, as soon as we get done dealing with the Tank, I’ll start talking to Branagh about making a push at the Towers.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Have you heard anything else since we had our meeting with Colonel Martin?”

  “Nothing more than what you know. Raiders swarming all over the south edge of Central, on the mainland. Nobody knows exactly where they’re headquartered, but the militia’s sent out a few patrols to see what they could scout. They’re hard to find, though. They’re organized. That’s what separates them from every other group we’ve ever dealt with. It’s not like they’re just coming in with guns blazing and ready to fight. They’re being real tactical about every move they make, and that’s why the senior officers are so worried. The War Council keeps pressuring President Branagh to make a new alliance with Fort Silence.”

  “I don’t know, Tommy. It’s just, from everything they told us about how they run things up there, it sounds a lot like how Tower Authority ran things back home.”

  “I thought the same thing, but I don’t get to call the shots. The president talks to me once in a while to get my opinion, but I don’t know how much he actually pays attention to me.”

  “Well, who wouldn’t want the advice of such a handsome soldier as you?”

  That gets another laugh out of him. “Practically the whole senior command’s done all their military service from along the bridges. It’s a lot easier to win fights when your enemy’s disorganized and stuck in a bottleneck. Half of them wouldn’t know what it feels like to go up against an enemy in closed conditions. Like a street.”

  “Or a Tower.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, what about that other thing people have been talking about? The stupid one you think they’re making up.”

  He literally almost spits up his food laughing. “The fire monster? In the city? Dodger, we’ve seen Creepers. We know what they look like. Whatever that thing is, it’s nothing worse than that. People are just imaging something. You know how easy it is to panic in the Deadlands, with all that Creep around. It makes people nervous if not completely hallucinate.”

  “Yeah, I guess. It’s just, it’s not like it’s only our people reporting it.”

  “The refugees that have been coming to the bridges?” He shakes his head. “Honestly, Dodger, I don’t know. I haven’t heard enough of the stories to have an opinion about it.”

  “Well, personally, I think it would be kind of cool if there was a fire breathing monster out there.”

  Mike’s Recording 02

  So, I’m sitting there, munching on a piece of celery, when she grabs me around the neck. Suddenly, Cynthia’s squeezing me and putting a pencil to my neck while she growls. “Who’s this stranger invading the Green Zone? A spy? Some kind of raider? I’ve never seen anyone like him in Central before.”

  “Maybe cause I’m not from Central. Just, might be the reason why.”

  She laughs and lets go, then pushes me in the back. I go stumbling for a second before turning around, and she’s already got her fists up. It only takes a second before she starts throwing soft punches. “Come on, big man. Let’s see what you got. I thought you were some sort of hot-shot lieutenant in the militia.”

  ‘Course, I throw up my fists as well. “You sure you want some of this?”

  “I’ll take you all day long, mister.”

  “Try it.”

  She laughs and jumps into me, and suddenly we’re going flying into the grass. She’s laughing her head off the second we hit, and I’m just sitting there, staring up at the roof. The whole Green Zone, every two and a half miles of it, is enclosed. Nothing but bullet proof glass that ends way up above the tree line. And I’m just sitting there, staring into
the sky while Cynthia scoots up to my ear. “My little sister’s coming by. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Mandy? Nah. Girl’s cool. You know I like her.”

  “I just didn’t want you making trouble because we weren’t getting alone time.”

  “Trouble? I stay outta that.”

  She props herself up on an elbow and stares at me. “Yes, the boy who fled the Tower, crawled across the Deadlands, and then became a soldier in the Central Freedom militia. What a peaceful, normal life to live.”

  “They say curiosity kills the cat.”

  “You’re not dead yet.”

  “Came close.”

  “Well, I’m glad you didn’t.” She pecks me on the cheek real quick before pushing up. She might not be a soldier, but the girl’s strong. Almost jumps straight onto her feet. “It looks pretty today.”

  Doesn’t take me too long to get back on my legs, too. “Doesn’t it always? The weather’s simulated. Why I always come this way.”

  “You like the gardens?”

  “Yeah. And the trees. What gets me out here is the lake, though.

  The lake. All we call it, really. There are actually a couple of lakes in the Zone, but this one . . . this one’s the one people usually talk about. It’s big, almost as wide as the whole Green Zone, and there’s not much gardening around it. A lot of trees, mostly. I know it might seem like a waste, but truth is, it’s beautiful. Sometimes, people just need a place to be. Guess this is my place. The rains that fall around Central are filtered into drinking water, but some of it goes into the lake. Other times, the city takes water from the river. Doesn’t really matter where you get the water, whether you get it from rain or the rivers, it’s going to be polluted. It’s going to need to be filtered. Point is, we can do it. Here in Central, anyway. The whole city’s built on one of the most advanced systems for purifying water that’s ever existed.

  Anyway, from the edge, all you see’s the lake surface and the trees past it. The Green Zone’s got an artificial sun that projects down from the glass, so you don’t see any of the buildings around Central. It’s just views of a blue sky you’d never find out in the Deadlands. Think I like it that way. It’s nice to stand there and imagine that all’s right with the world. No Creep. No Towers. Just me and Cynthia, standing there, like we’re centuries in the past, before everything got destroyed in the August War and the Following Fall.

  She looks at me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Yeah. Something about this place, you know? Just gets me thinking. I like being here. With you.”

  “I hope with me, mister, unless you’re cheating on me,” she laughs as she tucks her head against my shoulder. “It’d be your loss, though.”

  “Oh. I know.” When I look down at her, I realize she looks a little tired. “Hey. Everything okay? Something looks wrong.”

  “Hm? Oh, it’s nothing. Just, had about a half dozen people cross the bridge today. None of ours.”

  “Not colonists. Raiders?”

  “They say they weren’t, but it’s not like raiders wear uniforms. Not all of them, anyway.”

  “So, what brought them to Central? If they weren’t raiders, did they get hit? Raided?”

  “You’re asking if it was the Tank.”

  “Basically.”

  “No. This time, it was the other one.”

  “The monster.”

  She pulls away and crosses her arms. Easy to see she doesn’t look comfortable. “Are you going to call me crazy for believing in it? Everyone else does.”

  “First, I know you’re crazy. Second, I’d never call you that to your face.”

  That gets a smile out of her. “What a jerk.”

  “More like a bad comedian.”

  “Seriously, though.”

  I drop the act. “Serious. I’ll believe whatever you say. What were the reports this time?”

  “I don’t believe some of them. Some of them, though . . . We had four men and two women that showed up today. One of the women had a fractured femur, and the other woman had a broken arm. Two of the men had broken arms and another one had a concussion. According to them, they had to leave people behind when the fighting started.”

  “So, the monster attacked, but it didn’t kill everyone.”

  “Not them, at least. They said they got away while the fighting was still happening.” Cynthia stops for a second and covers her mouth. “They say it fell from the sky. Out of the darkness. Whatever it was, it landed on the hood of the front car they were driving. They were caravanning through the city.”

  “Dangerous.”

  “I know, but it’s not like there’s any safe way to travel through the Deadlands.”

  “True enough. Go on.”

  “They said it fell out of the darkness and trapped the caravan in an alley. It just smashed right into the car engine. When it stood up, they said it had to have been eight feet tall, with glowing red eyes. They said the eyes burned, like they were rivers of crimson. They could actually see the trails from its pupils as it climbed the rooftop.”

  “Damn. Did they try and do anything?”

  “Well, if you believe them, then the monster moved too fast for bullets. They kept saying it could float, like it could jump from wall to wall. And the fire. That’s the one thing everyone talks about, every time we get these reports. The fire. It would vanish into the shadows and then reappear in a burst of flames. That’s how it took them out. It would vanish and then reappear, snatching one of them into the darkness. Then it’d come back. One of the men says he pulled a rifle on it, but the creature moved so fast that it just grabbed the barrel and bent it backward. That’s when he took the punch that gave him a concussion.”

  That’s the way these stories always go. Nobody ever gets a good look at the thing. All they can tell us is that it’s big, black, and on fire. “Guessing nobody saw a face or anything?”

  “No.”

  “Can they at least say if it was a Creeper? Did it have any tendrils or anything? We’ve got to get something to go on.”

  She shakes her head. “No, nothing like that. I don’t know, Mikey. Something’s out there. I just know it.”

  “Yeah. Might have a chance to prove that soon. Been getting chatter down the pipe from Tommy. He doesn’t believe in it, but word is the colonel’s thinking about sending us out soon to investigate. Any chance your refugees can map us back to the spot?”

  “I’m pretty sure. They said it was south of here.”

  “Toward the Tank’s territory.” Can’t help shaking my head at that. “That’s new. All the old reports were from further north. This thing’s on the move, and I don’t like it.”

  “Do you think I like always having to bandage up people who come screaming to us about monsters? Between the Tank and this thing, the whole Deadlands are going crazy. Mike, one year ago, we thought we had a chance to really make a difference on the mainland. Now?”

  “Hey, I’m with you,” I tell her as I reach her way. She tucks into me, and all I can do is stare out onto the lake and hold on. “I want to be there for that. Want to help clean the city out. We got to take care of these things first though. This monster, and the Tank.”

  “Just be careful out there. Even if this monster didn’t exist, the Creep’s bad enough.” She laughs, and I’m just glad she sounds a little happier. “I guess I really don’t have to tell you that, though.”

  “Nah. Tower living will help you see enough Creep for a lifetime. I’m ready to get rid of it and just help out around Central.”

  “Yeah? You wouldn’t want to go back to your home?”

  “Well, I’d have to. Got things to take care of back there. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to come back here though. Maybe bring my parents back with me. That’d be something. They’ve never seen anything like this. I know I couldn’t have imagined anything like Central.”

  Still, the whole time we’re standing there, waiting for Mandy to meet up with us, I just can’t shake that feeling. The one I
hate getting. The psychic one, and the whole reason I was made a Scavenger. I can feel that trigger in my chest telling me something’s coming. Something dangerous. Maybe it’s the monster. Maybe it’s the Tank. Maybe it’s both. Don’t know. What I do know is I’ve got to protect Central. Got to protect Cynthia and Mandy. I mean, this is my second home. Course I’m going to fight for it.

  Tommy’s Recording 03

  The city garrison’s not the most comfortable place around, but it’s great for holding meetings. When I sit down at the table, it’s good to see Dodger and Mike. Just the three of us, like old times. We see each other all the time during training, but it’s just different to sit down and actually talk with them. Even though we all live in the same apartment building, we’ve gotten so domestic over the last year that we’ve made a bad habit of staying indoors too much sometimes. Anyway, it’s nice to have Mike there with us. “Mikey,” I greet him as I’m pulling up to the table. “You’re so busy all the time between drills and spending time with Cynthia and Amanda. I’m happy for you, don’t get me wrong. Just cut me and Dodger a little time once in a while, why don’t you?”

  He smiles, and I’m into it. That’s become a sight that’s a lot more common since we got out of the Tower. “Man. Still trying to figure out how to put together this home life and work life. Never thought I’d be doing anything but scraping food off the roof of the Tower.”

  “Well, we’ll all be scraping food one day, I hope.”

  “You still hoping there’ll be a day when we can all just retire and become farmers?”

  “Maybe not farmers, but something else but soldiers would be nice. Why? Aren’t we all fighting for the same thing?”

  “You know it. Until Tower’s End.”

  “Until Tower’s End,” I agree as I look over at Dodger. “Sorry for calling in you in at the last minute.”

  “Because we won’t be seeing each other back at the apartment later,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “What’s going on, Tommy? You’ve got me all in suspense now.”

  “Believe me, if I’d known earlier, I would’ve called you two in earlier. I know it’s late and nobody likes rolling into the garrison after dark.”