Floor 21- Dark Angel

by Jason Luthor

  I look over at where the repulsion pole is being worked on. One of the guy’s is fidgeting with it, but he’s making me nervous because night’s coming fast and things are getting dark. “Sergeant,” I call him, using his title to make sure he knows I’m serious. “Is everything alright?”

  “On it, lieutenant,” he yells back, but I can see the sweat pouring down his face.

  “You sure? Cause I’m pretty sure that thing’s supposed to be glowing if it’s working.”

  “Well, I agree with you, I really do,” he says as he drops to the ground. His hands dig around inside the panel for a second before I hear the whining sound as the pole charges. Must be no more than a few seconds later when the top of its starts glowing this bright, blue color, and suddenly the room’s covered in its light. I watch the Creep dangling from the ceiling and sliding down the walls just retract the second the light’s on, and I can’t help but feel a little amused. We could’ve really used this stuff in the Tower.

  “Good work,” I tell him as I walk over.

  “Thanks, lieutenant,” he says as he falls back. The second he’s sitting, I see him pull out one of his meal bars. “It was a little dicey there for a second, if I’m being honest.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “It’s just, you know these are new poles.”

  “Right. That’s why we just have to set out one to get the repulsion field to work. Used to have to set up four of them.”

  “Exactly, well, the doctor’s got these new models. A lot more convenient, but I couldn’t figure out how to get it started. He doesn’t exactly make his inventions user friendly, is what I’m trying to communicate.”

  It makes me smile. “Doc’s not user friendly either. He’s . . . hard to get. Not surprised his new stuff’s not easy to work with. Guess I’ll have to talk to him about that.”

  “He came out of the Tower with you, right?”

  “Right, but guy was living on ground floor. I came from close to the top, so we didn’t meet until just a few weeks before I arrived at Central. He’s got some amnesia or something, so it’s hard to pin what his deal is and what’s going on with him.”

  “Well, I’m just glad we got these things working.”

  I nod. “Me too. Hate to have to stay out here without protection. Life was bad enough back home trying to find a place to sleep while we were working our way through.”

  “We used to have to sleep without them, too. The doctor’s the one who got ours working again, before he made these new ones.”

  “Yeah. Way I hear it, you guys had lots of tech that went bust.”

  “We really did. My dad used to talk about it all the time, complaining about how things had been better for my grandfather. Then again, my grandfather said his grandfather had things even better. The technology just didn’t hold up very well.”

  “Five hundred years? I think I’d say that’s a good lifetime on tech.”

  He shrugs as he takes a seat around the pole. “I guess you’re right.”

  A second later, the rest of the guys are pushing in close. One of my corporals brings the guys in as we all huddle around the light of the pole. I give him a nod. “Got those doors secured?”

  “You know it, boss,” he says with a smile that glitters with that weird light shining through the room “Made sure the boys checked out the rest of the building. Nobody living here. Guaranteed.”

  “Well, it’s a bank.”

  “Doesn’t mean you don’t get squatters up in places like these.”

  “True.” I take my chance to slide to the ground and take a breath. Just something comforting about having all the guys crowded around the light like this. “Glad everything’s clear, in any case. Always hard to tell when you’re out in the Deadlands.”

  One of the guys looks my way between bites of his meal bar. “How long’d you spend out in the Creep? Said it was a few weeks?”

  “Probably more than a month. Between wandering out west then coming back east with survivors, it took us a while before we reached the city.”

  “You know, everyone thinks of you like heroes for getting out of the Towers. We’re talking about five hundred years of nobody leaving those things.”

  “I’m guessing nobody tried going inside because they were all sealed off?”

  “That, and the fact nobody likes going into the Darkness. You ever figure out what that stuff was?”

  I shake my head. “Nah. The Darkness is massive though. From the top of the Tower, you can see about thirty miles out before the visibility gets too bad to see further.”

  “I’m guessing that’s why you never saw any of our transports taking off from around Central?”

  “Well, sure, and the fact that Central’s almost two hundred miles away from us.”

  “Did you ever try getting into another Tower?”

  “Nah, not us. There was one close by. You could see it from the roof, but it was sealed off, just like ours.”

  “Do you think the Towers are making the Darkness?”

  “Doc says it’s the Creep. If you think about it, that makes sense. Creep focuses around the Towers. I hear there’s another Tower like our up north, along the coast. Same thing going on there, lots of Creep in the area.”

  “Why do you think it’s like that? Why would the Towers attract the Creep like that?”

  “Man. If I had answers about the Towers, I might have answers about how to push back the Creep.”

  Tommy’s Recording 06

  So, after a few days of finding nothing, I get so frustrated that I toss a Baby Boy out. If I haven’t talked about what a Baby Boy is, it’s basically a way to keep an eye on teams or officers. Normally, they float right over your shoulder, recording everything you say and do. Technically, it’s supposed to be for Central Command, so they can see what you’re seeing if they have to. They’re also great for keeping watch while you go to sleep, since they’ll run all night and record the area. Whenever they spot anything, you get a message beeping right into your earpiece. It’s also why they’re good for tossing out once in a while. When I send the Baby Boy out, it probably rushes down about a dozen blocks before zipping back at us. When I realize there’s nothing in sight but more nothing, I open a channel to Dodger and Mike to let them know it’s time to wrap up.

  “Lieutenant Anne, Lieutenant Chapman, this is Captain Jones, over.”

  Dodger’s voice breaks through first. “Lieutenant Anne here. I’m hoping you say you found something.”

  Mike’s voice breaks through next. “Lieutenant Chapman here. Nothing on my end. Just Creep, tech, and a bunch of empty buildings.”

  “Same here. Look, it’s already past nine in the morning. We’ve been slowly heading each other’s way, so I think it’s about time we grouped up. The last known position of the monster was near where Anne is, so I’m taking my team and turning south. Chapman, you should probably start moving since you’re farthest west of the target site.”

  Dodger chimes in. “We’re not far from Raritan’s Landing. Just passed it up a little while ago, actually. You can still see all the old boats Central used to use to get up and down the river.”

  “Great. The Landing’s a perfect place for us to link up. Maybe we can scavenge some Old World tech while we’re there to take back to Central. At least that’d make the trip out here worth something.”

  Mike’s voice cuts back in. “See you two there. Chapman out.”

  “Great. Lieutenant Anne, we’ll see you shortly.”

  “Understood. Anne out.”

  As soon as the channel closes, I motion to the guys and start leading them southwest through the city. The whole plan’s to meet up by the end of the day. I know Mike’s going to take a while to get there, but I want to at least give Dodger some support. She’s closest to the raider holds on the other side of the river, which of course makes me worried. That doesn’t mean I can just run my men dead all day, and it’s after noon by the time I pull the guys into an alley so they can grab some foo
d. Too bad I’m barely halfway into my meal bar when the earpiece in my helmet cracks alive with Dodger’s voice. “Captain?”

  “Jones here. What’s going on, lieutenant?”

  “Get anything from Lieutenant Chapman?”

  “Not yet. If there was any trouble, I’m sure he would’ve let me know by now. Why? Something happening on your side?”

  “Nothing’s exactly happening, but we’ve been finding stuff out here in some of the cleared-out buildings.”

  “I’m guessing it’s not just stuff that belonged to the colonists.”

  “That would probably make my life a ton simpler. No, there’s plenty of colonial stuff still out here. Toys, dishes . . .”

  “Which probably isn’t the reason you’re calling in.” There’s a pause on the other end for a second, and that’s basically all it takes to get me a little worried? “Lieutenant? Lieutenant Anne?”

  Her voice finally breaks back across the signal. “Sorry, captain. One of the guys said he saw something outside. I’m headed out there in a second to check it out. Just, I wanted to let you know that there’s definitely signs of raiders out here.”

  “I’m not surprised, being so close to the Raritan River. It’s all raider territory on the other side. What’re you seeing?”

  “A lot of flags, mostly. You know the kind.”

  “Yeah, I do.” There are different clans of free people that live out in the Deadlands, almost all of them raiders, and they all claim different parts of the city with different flags. When they’re not trying to pick on the colonists, they’re shooting it out with each other. Half the reason we’re out here is to understand how they can still be fighting each other and working for the Tank at the same time. “What’s the clan? Hadley’s Clan? The Red and Rooted? There’s a lot of them out there near the Landing. I guess that the Nelson Clan makes its way toward the Raritan once in a while . . .”

  “Three strikes. You’re out. It’s actually none of the above.”

  “Who, then?”

  “You won’t believe it when I tell you.”

  It’s enough to make met set my meal bar down for a second. “Well then, who the hell are we talking about?”

  “Erin’s Army.”

  I swallow hard and take a second before replying. “You want to . . . want to repeat that for me?”

  “I think I’m on record telling you that you wouldn’t believe me.”

  “Builders damn it.” I look away for a second, only to notice everyone on my team staring back at me. I look back out the alley and toward the street for a while before I finally get onto my feet. Without realizing it, I start rubbing at an old bullet wound in my leg, and I practically start whispering as I’m talking to her. “This isn’t their territory. Not even close. They’re supposed to be, what? A few days away by foot? Probably more? I know they’ve got vehicles, but not enough to carry all their men.”

  “Captain, I’m just telling you what I’m looking at. The flag’s green, white, and orange, with a knife down the middle.”

  “That’s Erin’s Army, alright.”

  “It would kind of make sense if they’re the ones pushing around the other raiders down here.”

  Now, Erin’s Army isn’t usually anybody we worry about. They’re one of the larger raider clans around the city, but they live in one of the wilderness sectors far to the north. I mean, that’s how they’ve been able to stay alive so long. There’s an old Apeiron water station out there, and they were able to use it to basically dominate everyone else in the area. If you’ve got water or food, you’ve got the run of things. It doesn’t help that they were able to access a ton of weapons and vehicles from a military base that was close to the station.

  “Alright, so what are they doing down here?”

  “I could be wrong, but I think that’s one of the reasons we’re down here. Sir.”

  “Funny.” I take a look back at the men and women who’re behind me. Not many of them have ever had to deal with the sort of firepower Erin’s Army packs. Between the Creep and raiders, I’d rather fight Erin’s Army, but only barely. “Okay, lieutenant. Feel free to keep exploring around the area but don’t move too far from where you are right now. I’m headed that way.”

  “Got it. I’m going to check what the guys found outside.”

  “Do it. I’ll open a line when I’m close by.”

  “No problem. Anne out.”

  The minute the signal’s dead, I turn to the team. They’re already grabbing at their weapons because they know something’s about to happen. “Listen up, everyone. We move out in five. We’ve got eyes on some raiders near Lieutenant Anne’s position, so we’re going to make a hard push and give her some support. Understood?” They all salute with a few grunts thrown in, and then I’m busy chewing down what’s last of my meal bar while they get themselves ready. My visor is already feeding me a map that’ll take us to where Dodger is, and I open up a channel to Mike as soon as I’m done swallowing down what’s left of my meal. “Lieutenant Chapman?”

  “Captain?”

  “You all clear where you are?”

  “Nothing but Creep for days. Crazy world we live in where I’m grateful for that.”

  “Right. Listen, we’re going to converge on Lieutenant Anne. I think she might’ve found something.”

  “Oh. We got a problem?”

  “Not yet. Let’s hope it stays that way. You’re going to want to double time it, just in case.”

  “You know, it’s impossible for me to get to her for at least a couple of hours.”

  “Yeah. I know. Do your best.”

  Mike’s Recording 04

  Moving through the city, even when we’re keeping a fast pace, you can tell how things used to be. Block after block of towers. Stores at ground level that’ve been looted. You see storefront windows broken open. After hundreds of years, there’s not much to see inside. If it’s not made of metal, there’s not much chance it’s survived, especially if the Creep’s infected the building. Some storefronts have naked mannequins watching the streets. Their clothes disintegrated hundreds of years ago, but the metal mannequin frame still stand there, naked and standing guard from storefronts. Other parts of the city, you see stores, their doors swinging open. Inside, the shelves have been empty for a long time, but you still find stuff in storage when you activate their Pocket Space generators. Then there’s the banks you find once in a while. Never much to find there, but they’re usually good for cover or shelter if you need a place to bunker down. You see all of this on ground level, with these huge buildings rising up on either side of you, all the way down to the riverside.

  The Raritan runs from far inside the mainland to the west and out to the bay in the east where Central Freedom is. Long time ago, Central built all its colonies along the river. Just easier to survive when you can get food shipments by boat. The closer to the Towers you get, the more infected the water gets, but river water tends to be pretty clean. When it’s not, Central’s gotten good at gallons of it at once. So, for a long time, they plucked down colonies along the river. Proprietary Colony was one of the latest, after old Neddy died. Anyway, that close to the river, the air just feels fresher. Running water. Seems messed up that mankind got so busy building skyscrapers and buildings that they practically built all the way down to the riverside. Makes you wonder what the place looked like before the whole area was paved over with concrete and steel.

  Anyway, that’s where we’re heading. Raritan’s Landing was a small port Central converted from a lot older port that used to be on the river. Made it into a place where they could distribute supplies upriver. Way I hear it, Central used to move supplies, equipment, just about anything until raiders started hitting the area hard. That’s why Neddy’s Roost became so important as a foothold for Central on the mainland. With so many raiders moving into the area over the last few years, I’m not surprised that Dodger ran into some. It’s the thought of her staring down an army of them that keeps us running. We don’t stop of
ten, maybe at corners to check our surroundings. All eyes are up when we’re crossing between intersections, making sure there aren’t any guns pointed our way. Of course, nothing happens. Nothing ever does when you’re waiting for it.

  Guess we must be about an hour into our run south. I’m just about to tell the guys to break for a second when my earpiece comes alive. On the other end’s Colonel Martin, keeping tabs on us from Central, but he’s not speaking to me.

  “Captain Jones, can you advise me on your situation?”

  It doesn’t take a second for Tommy to reply. “Raiders on the ground, command. Got Suiciders in the air and Furies on the ground.”

  “What’s your ETA to Team Two?”

  “Streets are blocked off . . . Can’t . . . can’t determine a route forward.”

  Second those words start streaming through my channel, I can feel my adrenaline starting to pick up. Suddenly, I just don’t got the time to worry about fatigue. I turn around and wave at the guys, and suddenly I’m screaming, “Move it! We got fire on the ground!”

  Tommy’s Recording 07

  I practically jump back around a corner when weapons fire starts flying down the street. The second we saw the road blocked, I knew something was wrong, but it wasn’t until the Suiciders zipped overhead that I really understood what was happening. I’m barely behind cover when the rockets start raining down, and I barely have the time to scream orders for my men to get under cover. I’ve barely hit the deck when I feel the space behind me heating up and this pressure filling up the air. When that bubble of pressure hits, it launches me along the ground as a chunk of the street detonates apart. By the time I look back out of the narrow alley we’re hiding in, there’s a river of fire burning up the street outside.

  The roaring overhead grabs my attention, and I look up just in time to see the Suiciders streaking by. There’s not point firing on them, not at this distance. They’re just single seat gliders with a few rockets strapped under the wings, so they’re usually used for hitting soft targets. It’s the worst of the worst new tech in the Deadlands, the kind of mess that got jury rigged after the Old World fell. Repulsor technology plugged into the bellies of a winged glider and a jet fired thruster mounted on the back. To be honest, Suiciders are just as dangerous to the people riding them as they are to their targets, and they’re not much of a threat when there’s only one or two of them. The problem’s when you get a dozen of them flying through the air, dropping bombs everywhere and making a mess of things. The explosions tearing up the street ahead of us cut us off from linking up with Dodger and force us back down the alley we just walked up.