by Jason Luthor
“Dark Angel? Lieutenant Chapman? What’s happening? What’s going on over there?”
For a second, we don’t get any responses. Even the screen is still full of static, so it’s not like any of us can see what’s going on. The whole time I’m waiting for the signal to come back online, I can feel my fingers just squeezing around the buttons on my uniform. It’s hard to even breathe, but I can hear myself mumbling, over and over, “Come on, guys. Answer. Mikey. Jackie. Someone answer.”
The guys on comms look back at us, confused. Nobody seems to have a way to get the signal reconnected. Suddenly though, the screen snaps back to life, but all we can make out is a cloud of debris for a second. I’m squinting to see something, and the whole time I’m trying to find any hope to cling to, Martin’s still demanding, “Lieutenant Chapman. Dark Angel. Are you there? Respond.” Seconds keep ticking by and still, no answer. I’m not ready to give up, but I’m on the verge of looking away when the dust finally starts to settle. When it finally does start to clear, I manage to see that unmistakable figure of Jackie, her back to us. She’s standing there with her fists clenched, her face turned down the street to the raiders, who look like they’re starting to inch away. From the looks on their faces, it’s clear that they’re scared. We just don’t understand why at first.
It takes a minute, but when the dust finally stops swirling, we finally get a good look at her. The back of her armor’s torn up from too much gunfire, with pieces of metal sticking into the air. Some of it actually . . . actually looks like it’s turned inward, piercing her, and it’s pretty obvious blood’s trickling down her back from a couple of the bullet wounds. That’s not what’s got me worried though. Along her right side, near her stomach . . . there’s . . . there’s a huge chunk of her armor missing and a piece of metal as big as my hand sticking out through her back. I can hear one of the comms guys whisper, “Holy shit.”
I’m saying the same thing in my head.
Jackie looks over her shoulder and says, “Mike. You okay?”
When he replies, his voice is a little shaky. “Yeah . . . Yeah, I am, but . . . you need . . . you need . . .”
“Get your men out of here,” she says as she looks back at his people. “Is that clear?”
“But your side . . .”
“Do it. Now.”
When she says it the second time, Mike doesn’t say anything back. He just starts waving at his guys. They start helping each other off the ground. Just about any other time, they’d be completely exposed to raider gunfire. So, why aren’t the raiders chasing them down?
Well. They’re running away. From her.
Jackie accelerates down that side street faster than some of them can escape, and she explodes back onto the main road with enough force that she bowls a few of them over. They go scattering to the ground as she plows through them and into the street. Less than a second later, her sword’s in her hand. Another second longer, and she’s flying through the air while explosions are filling up the ground at her feet. More men than I can count are firing at her, and everything on screen just becomes a wall of bullet hell. I can hear Jackie grunting as she takes hits, but then she slams back into the ground behind those rocket vehicles. Her back explodes with fire as she flies down a row of them, her sword slicing sideways and cutting through one vehicle after another. Every single one just goes sky high in big balls of orange and red fire that sends raiders diving for safety.
The minute Jackie’s clear through, every person on the ground’s got a rifle trained on her. Those armored transports that were escorting the rocket vehicles turn their guns back on her, but the air around her ignites and suddenly she’s thrusting backward, flying back the way she came and moving too fast for anyone to target her. Another row of rocket vehicles go blowing through the air as her sword passes through at least three of them, and soon everything in the area’s just a mess of twisted metal and fire. Before anyone can turn a gun on her, she tosses her hands out, and I see two flat discs materialize from her fingers and go flying forward. They must be magnetized or something, because they stick flat to the front of the armored transports. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, and I doubt the raiders have either, but everyone in the area except for Jackie starts running away the second those discs plant. The guns from the transports haven’t even had time to lock onto her again before the discs suddenly surge with this red light. Half a second later, the entire front end of the vehicles go blowing off the transports. Balls of fire erupt into the air and send the smoking shells of burning metal tumbling along the ground and crashing into the surrounding buildings. What’s more important is that every raider in the area’s running for safety as Jackie stands there, her arms shaking as her legs wobble beneath her.
She’s gushing blood out of her side and painting the concrete red, and she’s breathing so hard that she looks like she’s about to have a heart attack. Even with all that, somehow she manages to port her sword away and signal through to Primary. “Dark Angel . . . reporting in, sir.”
When Martin doesn’t say anything, I shoot him a look. His eyes are wide open. I can’t really tell what he’s thinking, but it’s not until he notices me staring that he finally manages to speak. “Uh, Dark Angel. Good work. Your team is approaching from the south. Seems they managed to clear the rest of the Raiders.”
“Estimate . . . estimate at least a dozen wounded . . . on Mike’s team. Requesting evac for the wounded . . . by Vertwing.”
Martin’s still almost unable to speak. “Yes, yes, of course. We’ve got . . . We’re signaling the Vertwing to circle back around to pick up the wounded.”
Her chest rises and falls so hard that I really think she’s going to stop breathing for a second. “Good. I’ll . . . I will return to . . . Central.”
“Angel, you’re getting on that Vertwing.”
“Negative . . . No room.”
“Well, we’re making room. You don’t have the fuel for extended flight. I know that and you know that. The carrying capacity for that vehicle is rated to at least ten fully equipped troops. We can get you aboard.”
“Prioritize . . . prioritize . . . anyone who’s the most hurt.” She shuffles forward, taking small steps as she tries to walk back down the street. “I’ll be . . . I’ll survive.”
“Don’t be stubborn. You’re the one who needs to be prioritized.”
I don’t think she hears him. She’s mumbling something, but it’s too low for us to hear at first. Finally, we start to make out what she’s saying. I just don’t understand it. She’s forcing one foot over the other, her body limp, like she’s not even really conscious. The whole time, she just keeps saying, “Never again. Never again. It won’t happen again.”
When she says it that last time, I see her hand drop, like she’s suddenly just not there anymore. Before I can blink, her body goes completely limp, and I see her tumbling to the ground. It feels like forever as that intimidating figure of hers goes sliding downward. She collapses into a heap on the ground, her black armored body just crumbling along the concrete. I can’t even see her breathing. Martin shoots a look at me, like he’s about to give me an order, but I’m already out the door. My lungs are burning as I’m running down the hallway, and my legs are just carrying me as fast they can toward the labs. The whole time, my mind is racing, wondering if this is it. If we pushed Jackie farther than even she can go. It makes my heart want to pound out of my chest. I need to do something, need to help her, but all I can do is scream. That’s all I do, is scream for Doctor Watson, because there’s nobody else I know who can possibly help her. Nobody else who knows what her body is actually capable of. No one else who can save her.
Dodger’s Recording 10
I’m already at Central Primary when Jackie’s Vertwing’s coming down on the rooftop pad. Half a second later, more Vertwings are zipping onto the rooftops of the surrounding garrison. One of them just comes down right in the middle of the country, and it’s maybe a few seconds before I see M
ike sprinting at me. I just shake my head as I see him coming my way. “How bad is it?”
“Bad,” he says as he motions to Primary. “Tommy and Martin are meeting with the doc to see what they can do.”
I nod at him, but there’s not really a question of where we need to go, since Jackie’s not going to be heading to the garrison hospital. We’re already waiting in the lobby of the laboratory when Watson charges through the doors, a team of medics around him. Tommy’s right behind them and so’s Colonel Martin.
Of course, who cares about any of that when it’s Jackie we’re all there for. She’s flipped on her side, and I can see her entire back’s been torn apart. Her armor looks like it’s been chewed up, but it’s the big piece of metal sticking through her back that makes my breath stop. The armor around it’s gone and the jumpsuit underneath’s soaked in blood. I literally feel my heart stop when I see more blood pump out. It’s actually the worst wound I’ve ever seen. I can feel the back of throat choke up, and I have to cover my mouth and look away. Mike’s standing there with his hands over his face, but I can see wet streaks down his jaw.
It’s only because Watson’s screaming that I really come back to reality. Colonel Martin’s shouting him down. “You tell me whether you can pull her through this or not, doctor.”
“I’d like you to find someone better equipped to do so, unless you possess an abundance of staff on hand with the ability to operate on Creep enhanced individuals.”
Martin shuts up and just follows behind the stretcher. We chase after them, getting in line behind Tommy as she’s wheeled into the lab’s surgery room. It doesn’t take long before they’ve got her moved off the stretcher and onto the special bed that was made for her. The bed’s inside this transparent chamber, and outside the chamber’s all of these computers and monitors where technicians are working. The second Watson’s finished with the techs, he wheels around and looks as angry as I’ve ever seen him. “Now, I understand you’ve some deep-rooted investment in preserving Jackie as a biological weapon, but I have a life to save.”
Martin raises a finger. “That is not my main concern here. That girl saved dozens of lives today. You think I want her dying?”
“You think I want her dying, colonel?”
Tommy cuts through the two of them. “Gentlemen. While we’re arguing, what’s going on with Jackie?”
Watson motions back toward one of the monitors, where we all see an image of Jackie’s body on display. “The rocket casing punctured straight through her lower abdomen, piercing her kidney and parts of her intestines, among other things. With the degree of blood loss she’s suffered and the severity of her injuries, anyone else would certainly be dead.”
“So, the Creep’s keeping her alive?”
“Momentarily, and even it won’t be able to do so forever. We’ll have to remove the—”
He never finishes his sentence because there’s suddenly a scream from the operating chamber. All of us turn at once to see what’s going on and watch as Jackie shoots up from the stretcher, her armor gone but with her still wearing the jumpsuit. One of the surgeons runs at her, but she pushes him off, shoving him so hard that he goes slamming against the wall and falling to the ground. He’s shaken up but okay, and he crawls away as Jackie swings her legs onto the floor. Watson’s already running into the chamber, and when she sees him, she just screams, “GET IT OUT OF ME.”
“Jackie,” he tells her as he walks up to her, “We must take the proper precautions, or we could cause you irreparable damage. The amount of blood you would lose alone . . . We must determine a proper course of action and pro—”
Her hand goes flying out at him, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him so close that it actually scares me for a second. “Get it . . . out of me,” she huffs as she stares him in the eyes. “Nothing you have here can save me, but I will die if you don’t let me heal.”
Tommy’s covering his mouth and Mike’s pacing. I can’t even feel myself breathing as Watson stares back at her. It feels like forever before he finally nods, but then he turns to one of the nurses and points to some tool sitting on a table. “I need a stability field on the patient to immobilize her during the procedure.” The nurse nods as Jackie lays back down on her side, her body motionless on the operating table.
I look over at Martin. “A stability field?”
The colonel nods. “Something the doc’s been playing around with for operations with Jackie. Started work on it the day she appeared. He figured operations involving her might involve something a little more traumatic than the usual injuries a soldier gets. It seemed like a good use of our resources, since we could potentially use the technology in military operations eventually.”
“But what does it do?”
“Hell if I know the details, but I’m told it uses two repulsor fields to keep a patient locked in place. Makes sure they’re even more immobile than if they were strapped down.”
He finishes explaining all this as I see these round projectors circling around on the roof of the operating chamber. One of the techs is controlling it, I think, and a second later I can see purple beams streaming down from the ceiling. Jackie looks like she’s surrounded in violet light, and Watson’s getting behind her on the operating table. He’s got something that looks like a mechanical glove covering his arm from shoulder to hand, with cables plugged into it from the ceiling and fingertips that look like they belong to a robot. There’s a second when he leans into Jackie, his mechanical hand just a few inches away from the metal debris sticking out of her back, when he hesitates. After a second, he takes a deep breath as he says, “This is going to hurt tremendously.”
I can only watch up until the second he actually grabs onto the debris, those mechanical hands of his clamping down with the kind of force that would bend steel. When he does, I spin around. I just can’t look anymore. It’s bad enough listening to it. A second after he’s latched on, I hear this loud, penetrating scream that feels like it’s bouncing through my skull. Jackie’s screaming feels like it lasts for a full minute, to the point that I can feel my bones hurting. It’s . . . incredible. It’s like listening to a Creeper screaming, the kind that soaks into your bones and makes your teeth rattle. It keeps going and going, and I just brace myself and wait until it’s over. She finally stops shouting for a second, and when she does, I’m able to force myself to turn around and look again.
Jackie’s lying on her back, and the whole bed’s just . . . There’s just blood everywhere. It’s not just on the bed, but on the walls and . . . I can’t even describe it. It’s horrible. Watson and his team are pushing needles into her arm and fluids are flowing from I don’t even know where. All I know is, a second later, Jackie’s breathing. Actually, she’s looking better than she did even just a few seconds before. The whole team of doctors, even Watson, all step back as she lays there. It’s . . . it’s just insane to see her stomach. The blood that was pumping out just . . . stops, like it was never even happening. Then, it’s like the muscles along her stomach and back start to come together, knitting themselves closed without needing any kind of stitches or treatment. Watson’s never shocked by anything, but even he can’t believe what he’s looking at. None of us can.
Colonel Martin doesn’t say much, but what he does say sums up what we’re all thinking.
“So, what exactly does it take to kill her?”
Personal Recording of the President, Gabriel Branagh 11
Tommy gets to my office around ten in the evening. I’ve been sitting on my third glass of brandy for the night when he does, and the God’s honest truth is that he looks like a mess. Can’t say I blame him, considering everything I’d heard since Jackie was flown back to Primary. He just kind of stumbles in and collapses into a chair. Again, can’t say I blame him, though I do raise my glass to him.
“Could I interest you in a drink?”
Tommy shakes his head. Just by looking at him, I can tell his mind’s far away. “No, I’m . . . I’m okay. I just
have a lot on my mind.”
I set my glass on the table and lean in. “How is she?”
For a second, he just sits there, staring at the wall. After a moment, he looks my way and shakes his head again. “She’s . . . she’s fine.”
“Define that for me.”
“The . . . the metal debris, it . . .” He swallows hard. “It cut through her intestines. Maybe a few major organs.”
“Sounds bad.”
“It was, until the doc took it out. Then she just started to . . . heal. Her wound just closed up. It was like watching a cut close up at super speed. Before I knew it, she wasn’t bleeding anymore. It wasn’t just that the wound closed up, though. On the monitors around the lab, you could see here her organs rebuilding themselves, like it was nothing. Her intestines all regrew in minutes. It was . . . I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it.”